The Crisis of Character

UV 4216/10000 The Crisis of Character But understand this, that in the last days dangerous times ( of great stress and trouble) will come ( difficult days that will be hard to bear). 2 Timothy 3 v 1 Paul writing to his mentee Timothy forewarned him of the crisis of character that has beset the world today. The bigger crisis is not the pandemic but the crisis of want of character in the world today. The pandemic is only a symptom of the much larger and deeper malaise. Paul prophetically warns of a narcissistic generation ( read social media driven generation). Lovers of self, boastful, egoistic, disobedient to parents and disrespectful of authority, scoring all values, ungrateful, vulgar and obscene, impulsive. People will be devoid of self control, Paul warned. The other traits he lists of the godless are traitors, lovers of sensual pleasure rather than being lovers of God, adulterous, greedy, deceitful and so on. He warns that such crisis of character will affect not just the world but creep into the church and affect it. We need to take heed of Paul’s warning given under inspiration of the Spirit of God nearly two thousand years ago but quite accurate and fitting the current milieu. We need to repent if we have manifested any of these traits or attitudes in our lives and in our relationships. We should not be engaged in quarrels, controversies, malicious gossip, rivalry, the strife that such envy produces. The servant of the Lord, Paul writes, must chew on the word and eschew all such unbecoming conduct. He should pursue righteousness, faith, peace and love and consciously avoid the snares and traps of the enemy of our souls and of our faith. He must be kind, gentle, skilled in teaching, patient and tolerant when wronged. He must leave it in the Lord’s hands to do justice when wronged and not take it into his own. Crisis of character affects all domains of public and private life today. Like in the time of Noah, evil has risen and the stench has reached the nostrils of the Lord. The rising flood of evil had provoked the Lord to send the flood of destruction like the pandemic. But we who belong to the church, Paul exhorts have to separate ourselves from the world and its culture. We are to seek the grace and power of the Lord to avoid, overcome, negate the evil influence of the world on us. We can do so only with the effective help of the Holy Spirit. We need to grow in the fruit of the Spirit that enriches and equips us in all the beautiful attitudes and graces needed to be an effective witness and servant of the Lord.