Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:2-4)

The culture of self-deceit described in 2 Timothy sounds eerily like our own, doesn’t it? Many Americans, even Christians, no longer believe in absolute truth. Everything is relative, right down to the Word of God. We remake scripture to reflect our pop culture beliefs. In an effort to seem relatable and compassionate, we excuse all manner of sin. We would rather condemn our neighbors to hell than tell them that they are sinners in need of a Savior.

But Paul strongly tells us here that even in seasons like ours, we are to stay faithful to the Word of God. Not our own words, His words. We are to be prepared, he says. Prepared for what? To be disliked? To be mocked? To endure some memes and celebrity disparaging at our expense? All of the above and a whole lot more. We are to be prepared to correct, rebuke and encourage. A lot of us like to correct and rebuke, but we very rarely encourage. We may point out sin, but neglect to point out the Savior. And if one or two arguments on Facebook doesn’t convince our neighbor of the error of their ways, we write them off as a lost cause. Great patience has little place in our common discourse these days. Yet Paul calls us to great patience in our interactions with others. And, perhaps, he is calling us to great patience in standing true to the gospel itself. In times like these, we can very quickly grow tired of being in the minority. We get tired of feeling left out of the mainstream and the temptation to cave and turn away from truth grows stronger the longer time goes on. This is exactly what Satan wants. He wants us to grow weary and for us to blame it on God. If only God’s rules weren’t so stringent. If only God was a little more open-minded, we wouldn’t be so lonely.

Satan also wants us questioning the Word of God because of the famous teachers who turned away from its truth. Recalling how many times I’ve been told by long-time Christians that they’re forsaking certain aspects of God’s Word because Preacher/Author/Blogger So-and-So did it makes me nauseous. We are far too prone to use another Christian’s version of the gospel as an excuse to abandon Jesus’ gospel. Paul is absolutely right when he says that we surround ourselves with those who say what we want to hear. We want to be told that our compromises are ok so we find someone famous to justify it. Or we comfort ourselves in the popularity of our beliefs, as if large numbers of human beings have never been wrong together.

When I read this I knew to some this may not be “popular” but it’s an overwhelming truth that has to be shared and spread. He is coming back, time is short, speak the truth in love and stay faithful to the Word of God!! Find me ready Lord!

Have a wonderful day in The Lord!

Today’s Reading is 2 Timothy 4:2-4