Sometimes, I watch shows on television which clearly illustrate how so many people today think only of themselves. Yes, we are a selfish community going our own ways. We sometimes raise money or donate clothing for a needy family or for victims of the wildfires, but that makes the news as something unusual. Is there a longing in any of us to love one another as Jesus said we need to? Do our neighbours ignore us as they go about their business? Do we feel alone amid this society where no one cares for us? Years ago, when I was a child in Bermuda, we knew our neighbours and played with the children on the street. Was it the same where you were born?

The apostle Paul mentions people who are "lovers of themselves":

2 Timothy 3:1-2a,4b-5 – But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money … lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God — having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. (NIV 2011)

Does that sound like society around us today? Was society back then as selfish as that, too? Has human nature really changed that much? Was Timothy trying to reach people who were lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God?

I don't fear this as a sign of the coming of the end of the world, as some do, but it is a sign that we are busy looking after ourselves and not serving God. There are many people living on the streets today, unable to afford a residence, living in total darkness at night. Do we care for them?

Are you and I so concerned about our own needs that we spend little time worrying about other people's needs and fail to reach out to help another?

Matthew 22:37-39 – Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. (NIV 2011)

Prayer: Lord, we live selfish lives these days. Please forgive us and turn our attention to the hurting and lonely among us. Show us how to share Your love with the outcast. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

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