The One That You Love

One of the saddest movies I have watched is Toy Story 3, where Woody and his friends felt abandoned because they were slowly discarded by their owner, Andy. The movie starts with reels of Andy always playing with his toys, but Andy goes to college—basically growing too old for his toys. So, even though Andy was unwilling to give them up, the toys are given away to their new owners in the end. The point of this is simple. Time can create a wedge between us and the things that we once loved. We can grow cold in our relationships with anyone or anything. We can be like any other kid who loves her new toys, but only for a while. She may be very excited about a toy for a few days, but she will ultimately leave them behind to look for something more interesting or exciting. Paul warns us against this sort of situation through his letter to his disciple Timothy:

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power (2 Tim 3:1-5).

Paul’s description of the last days is very grim. People will continue to love, but the object of their love will be things found in creation. People will prefer creatures over the Creator. Three idolatrous loves are the focus of the passage: love of self, love of money, and love of pleasure. 

First, according to Paul, people will be lovers of themselves. Whitney Houston’s hit song The Greatest Love of All actually promotes this. The song starts with a great note: “I believe the children’s our future,” so we might be led to think that it is a song about awesome love. Unfortunately, to our dismay, the chorus ends with these lines: “The greatest love of all is easy to achieve / Learning to love yourself – is the greatest love of all.”

People love themselves. This is very true today. Without a doubt, our era is one of the most narcissistic eras in the history of the world. The new English word “selfie” was coined in this era. Last year, I unfriended my neighbor from my province because my Facebook newsfeed was littered with her face. She takes delight in taking selfies almost every hour. Technology today provides several platforms for people suffering from Kulang Sa Pansin (KSP) or Attention Deficiency Syndrome (ASD) to be noticed. People today are lovers of themselves. They seek attention, recognition, and appreciation. People’s sense of self-worth are measured by the number of likes and reactions they get from a Facebook post.

Imagine if you visit someone’s home. He is single and living alone. You look around and notice that there is particular section in the receiving room, for everyone to see, that is filled with pictures, awards, travels, and even records of their good deeds. There is even a picture of him at the very center of all these things. It is basically like a shrine to idolize, worship, and promote himself. It is placed in the receiving area precisely so that people who come to the house can see everything and make comments. So you think to yourself: “Wow! This guy has a lot of ego!” Well, this is now called a website or a Facebook wall. People might be embarrassed to create a physical shrine for themselves, but they are shameless in creating online shrines.

Secondly, Paul says that people will be lovers of pleasure. This is also related to the love of self. Several surveys have been conducted about the greatest pleasures in life, and the results include: squeezing a pimple, cleaning your earwax, chocolate, bacon, a long bath, shopping, food, and sex. Among the three loves in the passage, it is love of pleasure that is contrasted with love of God. It seems, therefore, that the greatest competition for loving God is the love of pleasure. The temptation is to prioritize what we want over what God wants.

Thirdly, people will be lovers of money. The reason why this is not a good thing is found in the two other passages in the New Testament where love of money is mentioned. First, in Luke 16:1-14, after talking about the parable of the shrewd manager, Jesus affirmed that “no servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (16:13). Immediately after Jesus said this, the next verse reads: “The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him” (Luke 16:14). People who love their money are easily prone to reject Jesus’ words about money if their interests clash with the kingdom’s. The second passage is 1 Timothy 6:6, 9-10, “Godliness with contentment is great gain… But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” Very clearly, Paul’s concern is that love of money can cause people to fall into many temptations. Worse, love of money is the root of all evil. It has historically brought faithful Christians to wander from the faith and cause numerous afflictions upon themselves. In the parable of the sower, those who are sown among thorns are described as “those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Mark 4:18-19).

The picture 2 Timothy 3:1-5 paint is extremely grim. Thankfully, the chapter does not end in verse 5. It actually goes on to sing a better tune in the next few verses. Paul wrote:

You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness… ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it ¹⁵ and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 3:10, 14-15).

These verses are a breath of fresh air. Paul says to Timothy, his disciple, that the world will turn sour and people will be lovers of themselves, of money, and of pleasure—except him. Timothy is the only hand whose palm is up when everyone else have their palms down. In 3:14-15, the reason why Timothy is different from the rest of the world is revealed: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it  and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Timothy is different from the rest of the world because he is a believer of Jesus Christ. Moreover, he has a life deeply grounded in the Word.

We must be different. We are not narcissistic; we love God. We are not lovers of money; we are sacrificial. We are not lovers of pleasure; we are the masters of our selves. In a narcissistic and ego-centric world, do we love God more than ourselves? In an economically-driven world, do we love God more than money? In a sensual world, do we love God more than pleasure? Can God say the same words He spoke about Job for us: “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” (Job 1:8). What is it that we love? Who is it that we love? Oscar C. A. Bernadotte wrote a beautiful hymn with words that should be the heart of everyone.

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand

Than to be the king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin’s dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;

I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;

I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame;

I’d rather be true to His holy name.