Lovers Of Self

Lovers of Self

The apostle Paul warned Timothy with sobering clarity: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” He did not describe wars, famines, or earthquakes first. Instead, he described people. The danger of the last days would not merely be external chaos, but internal corruption. Paul then lists a catalog of character traits that mark a society in spiritual collapse.

“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy…” (2 Timothy 3:1–2).

This passage is not subtle. It is not symbolic. It is painfully observable.

The first and foundational sin Paul names is self-love. “Lovers of their own selves” is the root from which every other disorder grows. When self becomes the highest authority, God is dethroned, truth becomes relative, and correction is treated as oppression. A generation that worships self cannot submit to parents, respect authority, or accept rebuke, because submission requires humility, and humility is the enemy of self-exaltation.

Paul specifically points out that people in the last days will be disobedient to parents. This is not accidental placement in the list. The home is the first place where authority is learned. When children reject parental instruction, discipline, and wisdom, it signals a deeper rebellion against all God-ordained authority. What we see today is not youthful independence, but open defiance. Children speak to adults as equals or superiors, reject correction, and dismiss experience as ignorance. They are taught that feelings outweigh facts, that age brings no wisdom, and that authority must justify itself to the one being ruled.

This generation has been trained to believe they already know everything. Correction is interpreted as an attack. Discipline is labeled abuse. Instruction is dismissed as outdated. The result is exactly what Scripture foretold: unruly, disrespectful, unteachable minds that cannot be reasoned with because they have been taught that truth begins and ends with themselves.

Paul continues by saying they will be unthankful and unholy. Gratitude requires recognizing dependence. Holiness requires submission to God’s standards. A self-centered culture can do neither. When everything is owed to you, nothing is appreciated. When your desires define morality, holiness becomes offensive. This explains why reverence has vanished, why sacred things are mocked, and why restraint is despised.

Later Paul adds that people will be without natural affection, fierce, despisers of those that are good, and lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. This describes a society that no longer honors family bonds, mocks virtue, and celebrates indulgence. Entertainment replaces discipline. Pleasure replaces purpose. Feelings replace truth.

Perhaps most alarming is Paul’s conclusion: “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” This is not atheism. This is religious language without repentance, spiritual vocabulary without obedience, and faith without transformation. It is a generation that speaks of God while refusing to bow to Him, that claims Jesus while rejecting His authority, and that wants blessing without submission.

This passage was not written to scare us, but to wake us. Paul tells Timothy and us to recognize the signs and to separate from the mindset that produces them. The solution is not appeasement, indulgence, or silence. The answer is a return to truth, discipline, humility, and reverence for God. Parents must reclaim their role as instructors, not negotiators. The church must stop mirroring the culture and start confronting it with Scripture. And individuals must reject self-worship and return to loving God above all.

What Paul described is no longer approaching. It is here. And Scripture’s accuracy stands as both a warning and a call to remain faithful, grounded, and unashamed in a generation that loves itself but has forgotten God.