[Darris McNeely] In one of his few comments about the time of the end the Apostle Paul made a comment that there would be perilous times. What he's talking about is there will be times of stress in the time of the end. We indeed are living through some very stressful times as we watch, especially in the United States, a moral revolution take place that is just turning everything upside down.

A few days ago the Boy Scouts of America came out with the long awaited ruling on whether or not they would allow gay scouts within the Boy Scout organization. They had come right up to the point several months ago in looking at their long held position on this issue, and they backed off, held another meeting here just a few days ago and came out with the decision essentially to allow members of the Boy Scouts to be openly gay. Now they drew a line in this process by saying that scouts can be gay openly, but leaders cannot be openly gay in the organization. Now this does not end the controversy. The Roman Catholic Church, the Mormon Church do the biggest sponsors of boy scout operations at the community level. They have made their statements on the subject, and other religious organizations are still not happy with what has been decided, not even the entire gay/lesbian community is completely satisfied with what the Boy Scouts have decided.

But this is a watershed event, and there will be more like them, and that's the key point for us to understand. When I use the term watershed I don't use it lightly. What is taking place in our culture in recent days is a massive movement like a giant river that is flowing through and it is wiping away every sense of morality and traditional approach to living and culture that we have known in our whole lifetime in the United States. And any organization, be it the Boy Scouts, be it a church, is not going to be able to stand in the way of this tidal wave that is sweeping over the United States of America and sweeping away these positions on morality that we have all grown up with. That is the fundamental fact of what is taking place. And that's why what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy chapter 3 when he talked about these days he said, "Know this that in the last days perilous times will come," or stressful times. "Men will be lovers of themselves," in verse 2. This is 2 Timothy 3:1-2. Several points are mentioned here by Paul, but just the first one is enough to note and to understand. He said, "Men will be lovers of themselves." And really what this is talking about is something that applies to our entire culture. We are being swept away by a culture of individualism.

Whatever is right for the individual, whatever is important to the individual is what now is becoming not only the way, but in state after state as legislation is legalizing same sex marriage, marriage between homosexuals, then we are seeing this individualist approach to what the individual wants to do not what is good for the community, not what is good for the society as a whole, not what has been long held and taught by an institution like the Boy Scouts or even a major religious institution within the country. It is what is right for the individual. Men will be lovers of their own selves. This is what's taking place.

What do you do about it? What do I do about it? First of all I think we have to understand the tidal wave that is going over us and quite frankly there's not going to be any turning back. It is going to continue to grow worse and worse as other prophecies talk about. One point that Paul makes in this whole discussion is later on down in verse 6. And he says, actually it's in verse 5, he says, "From such people turn away." From such actions, from such ways of life and such attitudes he always encourages his readers and to us today, God is saying turn away.

Don't get caught up in it. Understand what you can do in your own individual way, to stand for right and righteousness, to stand for morality, to stand for God's law, and to not compromise in your own life. That in the end is going to be what's left for each one of us. And that is what God's word tells us. Understand our times, but also understand what is important for each one of us as we stand before God.

That's BT Daily. Join us next time.