King George’s Christmas message to the British people during WW2

"I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, ‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’ And he replied, ‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way."

(From King George’s Christmas message to the British people during WW2)

Well, I’ve made it to the beginning of another year. I was awake at midnight to see the change from the old to the new but, lest you think that I stayed up for this occasion let me set the record straight. I had actually gone to sleep in my recliner while watching a TV show sometime in mid-evening and was awakened by all the fireworks going off in our area so I guess that I can say that I was up at that time but, basically, it was just the transition period from my chair to my bed.

And, since I saw the need to write a "year’s end" message for last Sunday’s lesson, I therefore see a need to produce a "year’s beginning" message for today. As we set forth on our journey into this coming year I thought that the above quote by King George, made to the citizens of his kingdom during the darkest days of the war would fit perfectly with my thoughts today and is entirely appropriate to the citizens of God’s Kingdom.

Are we facing some "dark days" in this coming year? I believe that we are on several fronts because of many signs of our country and our world becoming more and more degenerate. Allow me to just cite one of them to you: the same sex marriage performed on a float in the Rose Parade. I’ve heard more than one person ask, "How did we get to this point?" The rest of this editorial will be my attempt to answer that question.

To start off, let me direct your attention to 2 Tim. 3:1 and a warning being given to Timothy by his "father in the faith" (1Tim. 1:2), the apostle Paul. Here is his warning: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." Notice that he said "shall come" and not "might come." The word "shall" has the meaning of "inevitability." And those familiar with the Bible understand that we are living in the "last days."

Now I’m reasonably sure that probably every generation of people since Paul and Timothy walked on earth has believed that Paul’s warning fit them and their times. Perhaps they did, but as we look further into his warning I can’t help but look around me at my world and say that Paul had to be speaking to you and I today. Let’s just take a brief gander at the specifics that Paul warned Timothy about by reading 1Tim. 3, verses 2 thru 5.

"LOVERS OF SELF." These are people who are only concerned about themselves. They have no concern for anyone else or their opinions and ideas. Christians are to be "selfless" in their nature. Read Matthew 16:24-25

"LOVERS OF MONEY." The thought here includes the idea of "materialism." Remember the rich young ruler? (Mt. 19:16-22) His problem? He trusted his money more than God. Greed is not frowned upon today, rather it’s promoted.

"BOASTFUL." A person fitting this category is like an empty pretender. One who exaggerates their own importance. What’s so bad about this? This is a sin, a nature of those who do not acknowledge God. As a matter of fact, they’re lumped in with "haters of God." (Rom. 1:30)

"ARROGANT." Arrogance is the outward appearance of the "proud." Romans 1:30 tells us that the "proud" are also "haters of God." A good Bible example is a guy named Diotrephes whom Paul said "loved to have the preeminence among them." (3 John 9)

"BLASPHEMERS." These are the people who slander or malign both God and His Children. Think about it - if you make fun of or malign the followers of God, then you are in fact doing it to God. These are also those who make false accusations against Him and His People.

"DISOBEDIENT TO PARENTS." God’s People understand that "obedience to parents" has always been a command, not merely a suggestion. (Eph. 6:1-3) Here’s a truism that you can take to the bank - young people who are disrespectful to their parents will be disrespectful to all adults. This is not the characteristic of a Christian.

"UNGRATEFUL." King James says "UNTHANKFUL." I have to admit that this is one of the dispositions of people that seem to "gore my ox" more than a lot of other things do. We’re talking about people who are not "thankful" for anything. These are people with the "gimme everything" attitude because I’m breathing, so I deserve it. They’ve been conditioned, or raised up, to believe that they are owed the good things of life.

"UNHOLY." We’re talking about people who do not respect God or anything about the sacred. I have no trouble seeing this attitude rearing its ugly head in many forms today. I think that a large segment of our country has become anti-God and it worries me. Never forget what the words of Proverbs 14:24 says? "Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people."

"UNLOVING." Who are we talking about here? The ones we see and read about every day in the news who seemingly have no affection for others, especially their family. The ones who have abortions or who leave babies in dumpsters. How about the ones we hear about every now and then who are trying to sell their children.

"UNFORGIVING." This is characterized by people who are always hostile in nature. They refuse to forgive any slight they believe came their way. Forgiveness is a necessary requirement of Christianity. (See Eph. 4:32)

"SLANDERER." These folks are the false accusers who don’t care about the truth of the matter. Also included are the malicious gossipers who, by their words, can destroy others

I’m running out of space here, but look at the rest of those Paul says that we’ll be living with in the "last days." Those "WITHOUT SELF CONTROL," the "BRUTAL", the "HATERS OF GOOD," the "TREACHEROUS," the "RECKLESS," the "HAUGHTY," the "LOVERS OF PLEASURE," and those who "HAVE A FORM OF GODLINESS." These are people the Bible calls "hypocrites" or actors masquerading as someone religious or spiritual. Let me ask you: "Do you see anyone fitting these descriptions among us today? Don’t bother answering. That’s what’s referred to as a "rhetorical question"

Everyone’s talking about New Year’s Resolutions and I’ve made mine. I resolve to get up at least once a day. I believe that resolutions should be keepable, don’t you? But seriously, I think that we should make a collective resolution and that is, that we’ll do everything in our power to NOT be found in one of these categories Paul warned Timothy about. Categories that we see being so prevalent today in society. I think that this new year will continue to take us farther into "perilous times" as I see more and more examples of the types of people Paul warns us about.

How should we conduct ourselves during these trying times? My thought on this: keep our hand in God’s hand and follow the advice Paul gave Timothy before warning him of the "perilous times" to come. "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." (2Tim. 2:1)

Ron Covey