2 TIMOTHY 3:6-9 THE LOVE THAT BANISHES FEAR

6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

Playing on the fears and weakness of fellow human beings has been a very reliable and profitable marketing ploy since Eve’s encounter with the serpent in the Garden. We use this approach to sell everything from life insurance (How will your family make it without you?) to laundry detergent (Are you sure your family’s clothes are really clean?). Even the church has employed its selling power whenever it has presented the Gospel as a get-out-of-hell-free card, rather than the God-given opportunity for a transformed life. Likewise, the false teachers of today continue to realize huge success using this method.

In justifying their own behavior and the standards of the secular culture, the false teachers within the church play on our fears of ostracism and being characterized as hateful. After all, who among us wants to be labeled a racist, misogynist, homophobe, hypocrite or fundamentalist? When being judgmental is disagreeing with my behavior, then the only safe path left is accepting anything that anyone else does; that is, to exercise universal tolerance. The “folly” that is beginning to emerge is that such an approach is impossible as long as there are more people than just me. There is no such thing as universal tolerance. To be tolerant of one group or behavior necessitates being intolerant of the opposing group or opposite behavior. To be tolerant of what is godless is to side with godlessness. To be tolerant of what is false is to reject what is true. When we reject God and the truth, we are worshiping the false and rejected by God.

In contrast, we are called to be witnesses to the truth. The fact that we encounter opposition and hostility should not be a surprise. Indeed, Jesus told his disciples that the world would hate them as it hated him (John 15:18-19). But our love of God should overcome any fear we have of the world. Our fears are based on who we think we are and how we think others see us. Such self-centered thinking leads only to insecurity and vulnerability to manipulation. We will be able to stand firm, eternally secure when we take our eyes off ourselves and concentrate on God.

Be the center of my life, the focus of my thinking and the reason for all I do, O Lord. Help me to trust you and know the security that can only come through my knowledge and love of you. Protect me from the devilish doubts that arise daily in my mind, and turn my thoughts to the grace and mercy you pour out upon me. Amen.