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We have been discussing the need for confidence in the days we were living in.  The present times are both glorious and perilous.  As we take a look at the word “perilous” it is important for us to know what makes for perilous times.

The Bible gives us an accurate description of perilous times in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 – “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

The definition of the word “perilous” is difficult, dangerous or to reduce the strength of.  We can all agree that we are living in difficult and dangerous days.  The perils of living in the earth today, if not faced with the confidence that only comes with knowing and walking with God, will reduce the strength of our resolve and our hope for the future.  We need to understand the times we are living in and how we are to cope with them.

Reading this same passage of scripture from “The Message” we can understand why these are perilous times.  It reads – 2 Tim 3:1-5, “Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead.  As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God.  They’ll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they’re animals. Stay clear of these people.”

When you read this passage and see the attitudes revealed here, it’s like reading a description of the typical condition of the hearts of people in 2016.  These attitudes are what make our times perilous.  We hear much about the need for gun control every time someone is murdered with one.  Yet, we all know it is not the gun that does the murdering.  Murder is the result of a heart that is consumed with self and only concerned with a personal agenda.   These attitudes that Timothy names are “perilous attitudes”.  They must be seen for what they are.  We who call ourselves Christians must recognize them, repent of them and purpose in our hearts that we are going to example the opposite.

Paul addresses the attitudes we need in this hour in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 – “Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, love does not boast, love is not proud. Love is not rude, love is not self-seeking, love is not easily angered, love keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, love always trusts, love always hopes, and love always perseveres. Love never fails.”

If we are going to have confidence in perilous times, we are going to have to know God, who is love.  We are going to have to manifest the character and nature of God – love – to our one another.  We must maintain our hope for a spiritual awakening of this reality in our nation.  Selah.