2 Timothy 3:16-17

Trying to do my QT's in the morning again, to kick-start my day off on a good note. In MDG, we've been doing a memory verse and going through the various questions in the study guide. Moreover, this week we're going to be reading through the text on how to do inductive Bible study. For now, this is the study question for today...

Read 2 Timothy 3. How is Paul's instruction about the nature of Scripture a contrast to the nonbelieving world that Paul describes?

In verse 16-17, Paul describes scripture as "inspired by God...so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work."

He describes the nonbelieving world in verses 3-5 with lots of colorful nasty-isms: "lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, slanderers, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure."

A while ago, I kind of chuckled off my MIL's sandwich-board-The-End-is-at-Hand! theories. She was saying, "Just look! In the last few years, look at Thailand, New Orleans, Haiti and Japan..." (and you could since add Alabama) My counter theory was that natural disasters have happened since forever ago, its just not until the age of television and the Internet have we had images of the destruction beamed into our homes.

But, looking at Paul's laundry list of "oh noes!", maybe she has a point? People loving themselves, loving money and pleasure and being conceited and ungrateful; to me that seems more the rule than the exception?

From what I understand, Paul anticipated the end of days might happen within his lifetime. Even though it didn't happen that way, I think what's more clear than the actual timing is how, as Christians, we're expected to conduct ourselves in the midst of this kind of decadence and spiritual decay;

v5: Avoid them! (profligaters)
v14: continue in what you've learned
v17: be proficient, equipped for every good work.

Total aside, but v6 kind of cracked me up where it says, "those who make their way into households and captivate silly women..." (I wrote a note for that verse, "Oh snap! No he didn't!")

The more I've done MDG, the more I've come to understand that a Christian man's life is meant to be productive and proactively lived. We're to actively build proficiency and make ourselves strong in spirit and character so as to be disciples that bear the fruit of the Spirit. There's no provision (at least that I've read so far) for the couch potato Christian.

So, I think Paul's instruction is to invest your time and energy to scripture to build yourself up. We're charged not to withdraw and keep fighting against the decay of people's hearts turning towards themselves or towards things; towards everything except the only thing that actually does nourish a person's spirit.