Apostle Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, says that "hard times will come in the last days. For people will be lovers of self (2 Tim 3:1-2)." This message is concerning when we realize that we are living in the "age of self-love."
It's not hard to find all kinds of resources promoting self-love, from books and magazines to social media content; much of the content we consume today is geared towards making us love ourselves more and "better." And not only that, but we are immersed in a lifestyle that is built around the concept of self-love.
Our phones - in which we spend many hours a day - and the apps in them are built to deliver us a custom and unique experience that is carefully tailored to please us. The "digital world" different from the real world can be fully customized to attend all our tastes and demands, putting us at the center of this parallel universe.
Our daily liturgies—those routines, rituals, and practices that shape our everyday lives—serve as both a mirror and a mould for our inherent selfishness. These habitual actions not only reflect our self-centred tendencies but also reinforce and solidify them within our character.
The impact on the church is what is found in 2 Timothy 4:3, "For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear." And that is precisely what we are witnessing at an increasing rate.
Notice that these individuals are not necessarily openly renouncing their faith in Jesus; rather, they are rejecting sound doctrine and seeking out teachers who tell them what they want to hear—what pleases them—which is characteristic of those who are lovers of themselves. There are many ways to "not tolerate" sound doctrine: it can be blatantly rejected, but more often, it is demonstrated through a lack of interest, avoidance, or even the downplaying of its importance.
Many churches today feature not only anthropocentric sermons but entire liturgies—ways of worship—centred on pleasing people rather than God. This issue extends beyond seeker-sensitive churches that aim to please non-Christians. Even churches not specifically targeting non-believers often teach individuals to view themselves and their own desires as the target of everything they do.
True Christianity will teach us to deny ourselves, and to lay down our lives to love and serve God and the people around us, following the model of Jesus Christ. You can't be a lover of yourself and a follower of Jesus. So, in times like ours, we need to be extra intentional not to follow the "spirit of the age." And let us be careful not to make self-denial a theory, professing faith in Jesus Christ while living according to the liturgies of the fallen world.
Nino Marques
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