“Men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money ... lovers of pleasure” (2 Tim. 3:2,4 JND).
The moral attributes that mark the last days are no different in principle from those that have always characterized the world — love of self, love of money, and love of pleasure. However, as secular humanism has gained more and more ascendancy, self has increasingly become the great god of our day. Love of self is as much idolatry as the love of money, and Scripture reminds us of “covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:55Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: (Colossians 3:5)).
Love of self permeates our society and, sadly, has infected the thinking even of those who belong to Christ. We may not have actually uttered the words, “I deserve better than this,” but in our hearts it is easy to expect certain things as entitlements.
We have examples of this in Scripture. The younger son in Luke 15 felt that he had something coming to him, and by natural relationship he did. But it was neither earned nor deserved; it was his simply because of the family into which he was born. A sense of entitlement caused him to request his inheritance while his father was still alive.
Superiority to Others
Haman went farther still. Not only did self fill his vision, but when he was not accorded the honor by Mordecai that he felt was due to him, he became enraged to the point of wanting the extermination of his entire race. Haman could not understand that there might be someone the king would rather honor than himself! We disdain such presumption, but have we not seen such conduct in our day? Closer to home, have we ever had to judge such a thought in our own hearts? More than this, it seems that many born into a place of favor have translated this into an attitude of superiority to others who are not so sovereignly blessed. Such privileges should rather cause us to bow in heartfelt gratitude before God, for we do not deserve such rich provision.
Just as Agur could say, “There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes!” (Prov. 30:1313There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. (Proverbs 30:13)), so there is a generation in our day that says, “The world revolves around me!” This attitude does not characterize only young people; sadly, it applies to some parents and even grandparents. It is the attitude that I should be waited upon, that others should go out of their way for me, and that I should have the best and the most. With this mind-set, we see ourselves as victims when we do not get what we want.
Serving Others
This attitude is bad enough in natural things, but it also spills over into the spiritual realm. Should we not be challenged to take a more Christ-like approach to our Christianity? Let us quit feeling sorry for ourselves and start living for the Lord! We have been left in this world to do the will of God (John 17:1818As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. (John 17:18)) and to be occupied with His interests.
Do we sometimes see a lack of interest by younger men and women in service for the Lord, while older ones are doing what could very well be taken over by the younger ones? Do we sometimes see a lack of interest in gospel work, or even a lack of interest in praying for the Lord’s blessing on the gospel?
There always seem to be plenty of needy ones to visit, and God says that this is a component of pure religion: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:2727Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (James 1:27)). Many can say from experience that some of their richest memories have resulted from such visits. Such a practice would be a great help in delivering us from self-occupation and self-pity.
Calendar and tract distribution can be a healthy activity for the body as well as the soul and spirit. Do we sometimes say “there is nothing to do”? Perhaps there is not something at hand that naturally pleases me, but pursuing our own pleasure is not the path of true joy. Selfishness destroys a thankful spirit.
Perhaps on occasion we have noticed disinterested faces at a Christian meeting. In contrast, we sometimes see those in a detention facility who are serving time for their crimes, yet have turned to the Lord, are hungry to hear the Word, and ask sincere questions. They want all they can absorb, while we may grumble about “the lack of good ministry,” without contributing anything to raise the level.
W. Brockmeier