Why People Don’t Persevere
Paul offers the following insight about the final days before Christ’s return.

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition. (2 Thes. 2:3)
Paul paints the picture of a general falling away from Christianity that will take place before the "son of perdition" is revealed (also known as the Lawless One or the Antichrist). A question to ponder is why do people fail to persevere "to the end" in the Christian faith? I think the answer can be found in Christ’s powerful parable of the seeds recorded in Matthew 13.

When Jesus explained the meaning of the parable to his disciples, he said this about the seed that fell on "rocky" soil:
The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. (Matt. 13:20-21)
We learn from this that there are many people who receive the gospel joyously but when "trouble or persecution" comes into their lives because of the Christian faith, they abandon it. Paul, therefore, notes that at the end of the age there will be an unusually large number of people who - because of the trouble and persecution associated with Christianity - will abandon the faith.

However, this begs a further question, why will so many people abandon Christianity? Hasn’t Christianity always been a tough "row to hoe" and didn’t Jesus warn his followers that they would face troubles and persecution? Why so many drop-outs in the last days? Here I will offer an opinion:

We live in an age of growing material wealth and prosperity. The average person living in the industrialized West lives with more affluence and leisure opportunities than the kings of any ancient era. My guess is that the Egyptian King Tut - if given the opportunity - would gladly have exchanged places with the typical middle-class Californian. We, of course, generally try to deny that we live such luxurious lives. We like to make a big deal about our bills, stress, and pace of life. However, in my view, this is merely a smoke-screen to hide from ourselves our own lavish living.

Please understand, I do not believe that our affluence is inherently a problem. It is a blessing from God. Yet, it comes with one huge downside problem: When people become accustomed to enjoying pleasures it is very difficult for them to endure the lack of them. Toil and difficulty are opposed to bodily pleasure. Consequently, toilsome things are a huge hindrance to a pleasure-centered life.

The point is this, with affluence people become very used to enjoying pleasures and entertainments and, therefore, they develop a certain delicacy of nature. Our great-grandparents used to call this an "effeminate nature." Today this terminology is associated with male homosexuals, but it used to be more generally applied to people (men and women) who weren’t mentally tough. People who were effeminate were seen as too delicate to go without pleasures and were unable to handle the toilsome difficulties of life. This type of person is mentioned in the Bible:
The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity… (Deut. 28:56)
Unfortunately, with increasing affluence, many people who profess to be Christians have grown accustomed to the pleasures of life and, therefore, they have developed very delicate and sensitive natures. They find it too hard to go without pleasure. This makes them ripe for the Devil’s picking. Simply put, in the era before Christ’s return, the Evil One will work to create a context in which people have to deny the true Christian faith in order to avoid the sorrows caused by the lack of pleasure. Those who profess Christ but have developed a delicate nature which is accustomed to the pleasures of life will find it easy to abandon the faith.

The antidote to pleasure-seeking is self-denial. Jesus told his followers that they need to deny themselves and take up their cross daily. Then, no matter how affluent the era, the Christian will be prepared to persevere in any trial. The Apostle Paul also said this:
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. (1 Cor. 16:13)
We are to be people of courage who are strong by nature and not delicate pleasure-lovers.

What do you think? You may leave a comment by clicking on the thought bubble below. See you on Sunday!


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Image courtesy of Getty Images. Photographer: Karl Weatherly. Image #: 200366370-001