Being Counter-Cultural

This morning I am reading from Paul's second letter to Timothy, and the verses are quite depressing.  They are depressing because Paul is writing about the state of the world in the last days, and as I read the verses I see the reality of his words all around me.  Here are the verses - 2 Timothy 3:1-5 NIV:

[1] "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. [2] People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, [3] without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, [4] treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--- [5] having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people."

I was reading some of the commentators' discussion of these verses, and they go into great detail, writing pages of examples on how these charges are visible all around us in today's culture.  I don't need to review their writing to see the truth of their observations for myself.  The question in reading this list is not so much whether they are true, but whether I see any of these in my own life, any of these present in me?  It is easy to read across this list and judge this to be true of those bad people out there, but the deal is that I need to look truthfully into my own heart and see if I have allowed the spirit (culture) of this age and  the focus on my self to take root.

As I look at this list, I can pretty easily create a list of what would be the opposite type of behavior.  I can't do much to change overall societal attitudes and thinking, but I can change mine.  So this morning I am encouraged to be loving towards others, generous, honest, humble, gentle, honoring my parents, thankful, holy, loving, forgiving, speaking only the truth in love, full of self control, kind, loving of good, trustworthy, patient, seeing good in others, desiring God above all else and being filled with the power of God!  Now that is a much better list, and what I should aspire to in my life.

Lord, I pray that You might help me to live a life that embraces the second list, and not the first.  I pray that as Christians, we can embody a counter-cultural movement that brings the second list back to the forefront of societal thought and respect. Help us to stand for the truth and make a difference through the way we live.

Amen!