But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 3:1-7

Paul tells Timothy in his first letter to pray for those in authority, “so that we might lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” (1 Timothy 2:2) We might be capable of pulling this off in the sanctity of our own homes, or in church, but step foot in the world, and even in my lifetime, you can sense that “difficult times” have indeed come.

If you are the slightest bit observant, you see people matching the above descriptions every day. In my part of the world there used to be what was called common courtesy or decency, but this kind of genteel “southern” living is almost a thing of the past. It’s every man or woman for themselves.

If this is so in America, imagine what it’s like in a non “Christian” country. What caught my eye in all these descriptions was a simple contrast; are we lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God? The original word behind “lovers of God” is philogos, meaning “student” or “scholar.”

We study the stock market, political tea leaves, statistical trends, odds, thoughts and intentions, instructional manuals, people’s every move, game plans, muscle mass in the mirror, war, body language, golf greens, etc., but do we study God?

Hmmmm…..Am I studying my next gratifying purchase, or how to acquire more of God?