Self-Control!

"People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—" (2 Timothy 3:2-4 NIV).

In the last days (begins verse 1) there will be terrible times--times in which people who have not acknowledged God, will not study His Word, will not hear Him, will not obey Him, will become--all of these things.

Their priorities will be greed--getting all the money they can amass by any means necessary, no matter how it may impact others.

They will brag about how they cheat and undermine others--bully others into espionage of all sorts in order to gain the upper-hand, financially over others.

They will abuse the power of their positions at home, in business, in communities, and in the government.

They will start by being disobedient to parents because they did not understand that honoring "mother and father" would guarantee them long life and then move out into society with the same spirit, defying spiritual and natural laws to do what they want to do.

They will be unholy--doing all things against God because their god is Satan.

They will be without love because they have never accepted God's love and they cannot truly love themselves--they are empty and void of compassion for others and they are the only people who matter.

They will hold grudges against others and never forgive even though they are in need of forgiveness themselves.

They will lie and cheat to get what they want without regard to the destruction that occurs along the path they take.

They have never learned to control themselves and function on feelings rather than common sense, they allow negative emotions and thoughts to guide their every move which leads them to becoming brutish--manglers of human beings and murderers without flinching, creating chaos and confusion wherever they go and yet they do not see themselves as they are--devoid of human emotions and ability to interact appropriately with others.

They are more inclined to give into feelings and those negative thoughts that intensify into unbridled lust and they will do anything to gratify the desire.

Carnal, fleshy pleasures mean more to them than loving God and living according to His Word because they lack self-control and do not want to live an orderly life.

These are the people who will not control their thoughts, their mouths or their deeds. They think evil thoughts and then plot to carry them out--they cuss at the drop of a pin and then think it's their right to infringe upon the rights of others. They are disorderly every where they go--loud and obnoxious--foul-mouthed and dangerous.

They understand "control" when they find themselves locked into situations where others are controlling them--jails, prisons, gangs, mobs.

They do not understand that although they may be locked up or locked into situations; they are never locked out of God's love--if they are willing to receive it.

These indeed are the last days. The writing is on the walls of society all over the world. What are we--who understand--going to do about it?