What the world needs now is love, sweet love; It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of; What the world needs now is love, sweet love; No, not just for some but for everyone. Through the years, numerous artists have recorded this popular song from 1965. No one would deny people need more love in today’s world. However, what the song misses is the kind of love. It only calls for sweet love, but biblical love is not always sweet. Agape love goes beyond feelings and emotions and at times, love must be tough. Last week I introduced four aspects of love in New Testament times. In 2 Timothy 3:2-4, Paul warns of four kinds of misdirected love in the last days.
He begins his list; Men will be lovers of self. The word literally translates fond of self from phileo love, the love between friends that produces good feelings. A lover of self does what makes them feel good without regard for the welfare of anyone else. The Amplified Bible explains that men will be utterly self-centered. Self becomes the center and leading object of living and crushes anything or anyone that interferes with his or her interest.
The second characteristic of sinful love flows out of selfish love—lovers of money or fond of silver. Love of self, demands silver, or money to subsidize the desires of self. Paul employs a noun form of this same word warning of the consequence of the love of money , For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1Ti 6:10). The issue is not money but the love of. Although it is not the only root of evil, think of all the crimes and family problems that results from coveting money. This love can even lead people away from the faith.
In contrast to stergo love, the natural affection between family members, the word appears here in its negative form meaning no love or no affection for family (v3). Every night, when Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, parents abandoned thirty or forty children in the Roman forum. The Stoic philosopher Seneca wrote, “We kill a mad dog; we slaughter a fierce ox; we plunge the knife into sickly cattle lest they taint the herd; children who are born weakly and deformed we drown.” Today, the fastest growing type of family homicide has become children killing their parents. Thousands of internet sites provide details on “How to kill your parents”. A headline today in a UK paper reads, Girl, 15, slashed her younger brother’s throat and planned to kill her parents so she could run away with her 23-year-old boyfriend. The reverse is also increasing. In addition to the 1.21 million mothers aborting their unborn babies each year in the USA, 3000 cases of filicide, parents killing children, take place.
Paul ends his list of the 18 characteristics of people in the last days with two final references to love. Men will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (v4). The word lover of pleasure combines two words, love (phileo) and pleasure (hedone) from which we get the English word hedonism. Naturally, a lover of self who desires good feelings will love pleasure. Paul is not condemning pleasure because God created humans with the ability to enjoy pleasure. God experiences pleasure; For the Lord takes pleasure in His people (Ps 149:4). It becomes sin when God slips into second place behind the love of pleasure. All pleasure can momentarily relieve our mind of problems. However, it does not eliminate them whereas the love of God can resolve our worries. Psychologists report that the modern world’s persistent pursuit of pleasure can produce a narcotic effect. This causes a condition called anhedonia in which the brain slowly loses the ability to experience real pleasure leaving people with an insatiable desire for more. Jesus warned that pleasure can choke a believer’s fruit. James writes, You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures (Jas 4:3). Pleasure is not sin but something we can and must control through the Holy Spirit.
In today’s world, believers must guard their love. Jesus cautioned Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold (Mat 24:12). Despite the fact the Church at Ephesus were hard working believers toiling, persevering, and not tolerating evil men Jesus said; I have this against you, that you have left your first love (Rev 2:4). Believers can demonstrate to the world God’s love by denying themselves and loving their neighbor, loving one another, loving their parents and children, and loving God with all their heart, soul, and mind. Instead of loving money, be content if you have food and covering (1 Tim 6:8). Enjoy godly pleasure but control it and do not allow it to control you.
Sustaining Word for the Week: What the world needs now is love that is God’s agape love; Not for some but for everyone. Show someone God’s love this week.