Soap Box

The following are not my words, but are taken from the third chapter of 2 Timothy in the Holy Scriptures, written by Paul the Apostle to one of his followers named Timothy, nearly two thousand years ago.

"There will be terrible times in the last days. 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 - having a form of godliness but denying its power."

Does this sound familiar? Do the headlines of today reflect how much we love ourselves; the lengths people will go to get money no matter who or what it hurts? Robbing defenseless senior citizens of their life savings, bilking unsuspecting investors out of the hard earned money they thought was safely put away and growing to insure their future, mail scams, phone scams, internet scams, all designed by unscrupulous shysters who value mammon above all else.

Are people boastful and proud to the point of thinking the rules apply to everyone but them, flaunting the law refusing to show up for court dates, bottom feeding lawyers who bring nuisance suits with no basis and no merit, judges who let child molesters walk the street, people who justify the killing of the unborn, simply because a few human beings in black robes said it was all right.

How about abusive? Spousal abuse and child abuse are pandemic and bullying is almost a ritual practice in the schools of this nation. School officials allow class-disrupting behavior by a handful of students who think rules are only for other people.

Runaways, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse and outright defiance of authority are rampant as the once honored model of the nuclear family has basically been discarded and the new normal is carelessly bringing children into unstable casual relationships built more on lust than love.

Many people have become ungrateful for being born in a free society in the land of opportunity and encouraged by self serving politicians, instead of trying to climb the ladder of prosperity have opted for the government handout, blaming all their problems on the people who have worked hard and achieved some level of affluence.

Many people today boast about their atheism, scoffing at the idea that there is an Almighty God who created the very air they breathe and knows the number of times their hearts will beat before it is forever stilled and they go to face the consequences of their folly.

The world today is bent on revenge, street gangs perceiving every violation of turf or breach of decorum as an insult to be repaid by the shedding of blood, innocent or otherwise, parents coming to blows over an umpire's call at a Little League baseball game, never turning the other cheek and never realizing the healing power of forgiveness.

Lies have become stock in trade with politicians and sleazy media will print anything as long as they can get somebody to say it, truth be damned.

Conceit and arrogance exist in high and low places and the "Do as I say, not as I do" attitude permeates the rich and powerful as they point accusing fingers at people for supposedly having too large a "carbon footprint" while living in energy-consuming pseudo palaces and flying around the world on private jets and perpetuating the myth that mere mortal man can control the earth's climate.

Many people perceive Almighty God as being a deity that changes to accommodate the ever-changing morals and mores of society, therefore:

A woman's right to choose supersedes "Thou Shalt Not Kill."

Looking out for number one is more important than, "Love Your Neighbor as Yourself."

Drawing a government entitlement flies in the face of "If A Man Will Not Work He Shall Not Eat."

If you notice the scripture at the beginning of this column refers to the "last days"
Because of this and many other scriptures and prophecies in the Word of God I sincerely believe we are at the very least approaching these last days.

And if you notice I refer to we, not you, as I certainly include myself as one who has sinned and fallen far short of the mark and the only thing that separates me from hell is the blood of Jesus Christ, my covering, my salvation, my hope.

Just a sinner, saved by grace.

Pray for our troops and the peace of Jerusalem.

God Bless America

What do you think?

Charlie Daniels​