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Second Timothy 3:1-5 1. But know this: difficult times will come in the last days. 2. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3. unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, 4. traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5. holding to the form of religion but denying its power. Avoid these people! Why More Selfishness in the Last Days? 1. Technology providing more convenience Advertising creating consumer culture The entertainment media portraying and redefining “normal” living The prevailing worldview reprogramming people’s conscience 2. 3. 4. • People live in light of what they really believe Robert B. Reich The American Prospect The great conflict of the 21st century will not be between the West and terrorism. Terrorism is a tactic, not a belief. The true battle will be between modern civilization and antimodernists; between those who believe in the primacy of the individual and those who believe that human beings owe their allegiance and identity to a higher authority; between those who give priority to life in this world and those who believe that human life is mere preparation for an existence beyond life; between those who believe in science, reason, and logic and those who believe that truth is revealed through Scripture and religious dogma. Terrorism will disrupt and destroy lives. But terrorism itself is not the greatest danger we face. Issue Date: 07.01.04 Quoted in National Review Portrait of a Selfish Generation Vs. 2 “For people will be… lovers of self” • Amplified: “people will be lovers of self and [utterly] selfcentered” • The Message: “people are going to be self-absorbed” Vs. 2 “For people will be lovers of self” I had a little tea party this afternoon at three. 'Twas very small, three guests in all, just I, myself and me. Myself ate up the sandwiches, and I drank up the tea. 'Twas also I who ate the pie, and passed the cake to me. Vs. 2 “For people will be… lovers of money” • Message: “money-hungry” • It is selfish when we think the only purpose of money is to acquire things for ourselves. Vs. 2 “For people will be…boastful, proud” • Boastful (pride expressing itself in words) – Empty pretender – Message: “Self-promoting” • Proud (pride expressing itself in attitude) – Haughty, disdainful of others – Message: “Stuck up” • This is selfish because it is motivated by making one’s self appear important and minimizing the importance of others. Vs. 2 “For people will be… blasphemers” • ESV: “abusive” • A related word refers to those who blaspheme God, but this word refers to scoffing at and heaping scorn on other people. • This is the selfish because it is attacking the value of other persons. Vs. 2 “For people will be… disobedient to parents” • Message: “contemptuous of parents” • This is selfish because it is refusing to acknowledge the parents who gave us life, as if we owe no one our respect. Vs. 2 “For people will be… ungrateful” • Literally, “Without grace” • This person is selfish by pretending to be self-sufficient, refusing to acknowledge the help received from others along the way. Vs. 2 “For people will be… unholy” • NLT: “They will consider nothing sacred” • Without the common decency that even unbelievers have • This is selfish in that the highest authority these people recognize is their own desires. Vs. 3 “…unloving” • Unloving – Literally: “Without natural family affection” – ESV: “Heartless” • These people are selfish in they are perfectly willing to meet their own needs at the expense of those they should be caring for. Vs. 3 “irreconcilable, slanderers” • Irreconcilable – unbending, unforgiving, unappeasable • This person is selfish in flatly insisting on his own way without regard to others. • Slanderers – NASB: “malicious gossips” – Related to a word for the devil and the one from which we get diabolical • This person is selfish in his willingness to destroy another person’s reputation to accomplish his own goals. Vs. 3 “without self-control, brutal” • Without self-control – Amplified: “loose in morals and conduct” • Brutal – Without the slightest sensitivity nor sympathy • Both too soft and too hard at the same time: too soft on themselves (self-indulgent), and too hard on others. • Selfish in that the only pleasure he cares about is his own and the only pain he can feel is his own. Vs. 3 “without love for what is good” • NAS: “Haters of good” • “There can come a time in a man's life when the company of good people and the presence of good things is simply an embarrassment.” —William Barclay • Selfish in that they resent the presence of anything that shows them up; they would rather good did not exist than to be made to look bad or feel guilty. Vs. 4 “traitors” • Numerous translations: “treacherous” • Willing to betray their friends • Selfish in that they will stop at nothing to get what they want Vs. 4 “reckless” • Headstrong, rash, driven by passion • Selfish in his unwillingness to consider the consequences for himself or for others. Vs. 4 “conceited” • Amplified: “inflated with selfconceit” • Message: “bloated windbags” • This person is selfish in that he never bothers to consider the value or contributions of others in his life. Vs. 4 “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” • Amplified: “[They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God” • Message: “addicted to lust, and allergic to God” The Journey Out of Selfishness Luke 9:23 23.Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Directional Shift 23.Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Rejecting the life based on selfinterest & self-fulfillment. Amplified: “disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests” Drastic 23.Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Decisive 23.Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Daily 23.Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.