A reflection on 2 Timothy 3

I did a reading on the passage today, when I was preparing for teaching in tomorrow afternoon’s Church Bible Study. I have to admit that I let my presumptuous self get the better of me once again, since this is a familiar passage that I have been reading a lot of times. In the end God showed how wrong I can be. The depths of His Words are truly unfathomable for men. It is said in the early verses that:

“But understand this that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (2 Tim 3:1-5)

As I ponder on these verses, I think of the current world we are living right now. And I have to say that most (if not all) of the sayings has been made reality. People are getting into what Paul describes in his letters. We are living in the middle of those people, and we are surrounded by those kinds of people. However, it was not until I read this verses that I realized that I might have made another mistake:

“For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” (2 Tim 3:1-7)

Then I thought… Wait.. I am on the process of learning to abide by God’s Word! Though the word ‘them’ are not addressed to the reader (Timothy) I can’t help to ask the question: Am I able to arrive at knowledge of that truth? I was silenced. I became silent because I can’t avoid asking myself this question:

Have we, Christians, become a person that is described as “lovers of self, arrogant, abusive, ungrateful, heartless, brutal, treacherous, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” as well?

How many times do we let our understanding of what is right (according to ourselves) eclipse what is right according to God?

I started the study by judging at others – but I forgot to check whether my own life have become the very thing which I judged. I am humbled. I can’t stop thinking all those mistakes and sins that I have done in ‘the name of good’ with ‘appearance of godliness’. Again, I was faced with my life which is tainted by the sins that I have done in the past. Things that I did with such an arrogant belief that it was the correct thing to do, but in truth, are another sin in the Lord eyes.

Once again, I was faced with the cross of Christ which has redeemed my life. Once again, I fell down, asking for forgiveness. Then I remembered someone said this once in a Bible study: when we read the bible, be humbled. Do not let the word of God be cut into pieces to fit the worldview that we have right now, but cut your worldview into pieces, so that it can fit God’s word, and throw away those that is not in line with His will. This describes what Paul said in the end of chapter 3:

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3: 16-17)

The Scripture is the authority of our life. This time, I was reminded by Him softly. And I am thankful for the lesson learned from this passage. I know I have done a lot of mistakes, most of them by being stubborn and careless. I will, however, try my best to avoid it as an apology to those that I have wronged.

Soli Deo Gloria