Godlessness is reaching epidemic proportions
Imagine the world with no rules, accountability, or consequences for evil actions. This image is one where people take a life with no remorse. It is a place where life savings are greedily stolen, women and children are abandoned, and even basic respect that was afforded to a mother and father is absent. This place of our worst imaginings is one fraught with lawless, heartless, and treacherous people who are concerned with no one but themselves. That would be a world where the concept of love is foreign, while brutality, slander, and darkness become the norm. This is not a description of total societal, economic, or geopolitical breakdown sometime in the distant future. It is an accurate analysis of the condition of our world at this very moment. This is how the majority of people are living in life. These are the direct results of one fact: Godlessness is reaching epidemic proportions in our day. 2 Timothy 3:1
I want to break down a few of these godless conditions and shed light on the cause. These are times of great difficulty because people will become lovers of self and lovers of money. We live in a world where everyone wants the latest gadgets and toys, but there are people all around us who are in desperate spiritual and physical need. It’s a sad day when having the latest electronic or entertainment at all costs consumes our attention, while people suffer from exposure, sickness, and hunger. God help us make helping the ‘least of these’ a priority.
Babies are aborted, children are discarded, and women are abused. Marriages are crumbling in record numbers and families are disintegrating because of sin and selfishness. All of these conditions have skyrocketed in just one generation. People are all about being free, self-made, and autonomous. This is indicative of our generation of godlessness.
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The Bible also describes the last days as a period when people will be proud, arrogant, disobedient to parents, and slanderous. We have all seen this ugliness of heart play out on every stage in life, work, home, and even church. Unfortunately, our day is full of this evil and nowhere is it on display more than the internet.
The internet and social media have done much to unearth some of the most wretched corners of the human heart. Can you imagine a time when you could walk up to a complete stranger on the street and call him or her every vile name in the book? Can you imagine gossiping, spreading lies, and slandering someone’s good name right in front of them? Of course not, but that is exactly what millions of people are doing to one another on the most visible of all places, their computer!
This is so sad because now we have family members slandering one another, Children showing blatant disregard for parents, and strangers talking to others with the vilest speech imaginable. Even with all of our technology, we cannot mask the level of depravity the human heart is capable of. These are hearts swollen with conceit and a total lack of self-control. The Bible gives insight regarding our tongue and the heart behind it: James 3:5
Self-absorption and narcissism is the rule, not the exception today. This world, it’s system, and people are looking out for number one. This self-focus is the epitome of idolatry. People are lovers of pleasure and God doesn’t even factor into their existence. If he does, it’s simply to keep up an appearance of godliness.
People don’t just kill for cars, now they kill for parking spaces. People will walk up to complete strangers and knock them out for the “fun of it.” Law enforcement officers pull over to help a stranded motorist change a tire or repair only to be gunned down by yet another depraved evil person. People hate and even kill others because of an insatiable appetite for violence.
There are many signs pointing to the close proximity of the last days and this rapid spike in godlessness that Paul described so vividly is one of the clearest signs. Any person who reads the Bible and has a realistic view of how quickly the world is descending into rampant godlessness can see these days mirror exactly the conditions of the world Paul was describing. That is why dominion theology and wearing rose-colored glasses to view what lies ahead is troubling to me. If we think this world is just fine, we won’t be concerned about matters of eternity, heaven, hell, and lost souls. Matthew 24:12
Here’s the bottom line:
We have an opportunity to shine like a bright light for the Lord in a world that’s completely mired in evil. When the majority of the people in society trade punches on social media, be salt and light by taking the high road and writing something kind or resist the urge to fire back at gossip or slander. Instead of counting the days until the launch of the newest phone or gadget that will probably be antiquated in a few months, we should get excited about any opportunity that exists to spread the gospel and show compassion to those who desperately need it. This is the time to let our light shine before other people so that God will receive the glory.
Noah was a standout in his generation, Job was a standout in his day, Daniel was also, so were the early church believers, and now it’s our turn to stand for the Lord as strangers and aliens in our world. Some will revile our God and our faith, many will not care and ignore us, but some people will be watching carefully. Let’s live to hear, “Well done” from Jesus to the glory of the Father even as godlessness is reaching epidemic proportions in our day.
