Self Love In The Last Times, by Donald Norbie
Donald Norbie Text: 2 Timothy 3:1-5 The general condition of mankind will make life difficult for Christians and the Gospel. Paul gives a lengthy description of men in those days. It is not that each person will reveal all of these characteristics, but these will characterize the world’s culture in the end times. Evil and selfishness will be rampant. There are nineteen descriptive terms that Paul uses. There does not seem to be a formal or logical progression in the list, although there are certain groupings. It is a passionate description of evil, rather than a methodical analysis. The first two go together, “self-lovers” and “money-lovers.” An obsession with self characterizes many today. There is worship of the human body, a probing of one’s thought processes, psychoanalysis, concern about self-esteem, self-realization, self-fulfillment. Commitment in marriage is marginal; self-realization must not be jeopardized. And love of money goes hand-in-hand with this self-worship