Nonfat Half-caff Double-shot 1-pump Carmel Macchiato…and a Splenda

For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. – 2 Timothy 4:3-4

The prevailing view of truth in Paul’s day, especially in the Greco-Roman regions, was that there was a truth to which one could reason or be convinced. There wasn’t as much a notion of “I” as there was a “we.” In other words, there wasn’t this idea of what’s true for you isn’t necessarily true for me. Today, we live in an age and place where everything we think about and interact with we expect to be personalized and customized to “me.” From our coffee orders to our religion, we want to pick out the pieces we want and come up with a flavor combination that’s the most palatable for us – one that won’t come off too strong in one element and maybe amplified a little in a different element we’re more comfortable with.

Here’s an example: how many of us steer clear of temptation areas like, say, drunkenness, yet when we order a pizza, we eat most of it by ourselves – or scarf down a whole bag of Doritos or box of donuts? Do we think that drunkenness is worse than gluttony? Paul predicted that today would come where we would start to mold our religion out of our comforts and discomforts and seek out teachers and other believers who agree with us so we wouldn’t have to feel challenged or convicted.

I believe God gave us the guidelines He did not to come up with an artificial set of rules he wanted us to follow, and not to cramp our style, but to help us live a full and abundant life. I will tell my kids to do something that doesn’t sound like fun for them - “daddy, I don’t want to clean my room.” But what they may fail to see is that I’m setting them up for success in the future by instilling a value of cleanliness and order in them.

God’s word isn’t pick-and-choose. All scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Lord, thank you for your Word. Help us to follow Your lead and go where you send us. Make us more like Jesus and not bend to the whims of our egocentric tendencies. Make us strong and courageous. Amen.