Jerry Taylor, "Godly Living in the Face of Persecution (2 Timothy 3:10-17)"

To walk in the ways of God is to walk against the grain of the world. In 2 Timothy 3:10-17, Paul offers a sober warning: those who choose to live godly lives will face opposition. This world is not a sanctuary for heavenly wisdom, it is a battlefield where righteousness is resisted, truth is drowned in noise, and faithfulness often invites suffering. The nation we call home has become a foreign land to the values of the kingdom of God. It has surrendered itself to the carnal wisdom described in James 3:14-16, a wisdom that is earthly, unspiritual, even demonic. It is a wisdom born of bitter envy and selfish ambition, a wisdom that breeds division, disorder, and every evil practice. Godly living will not be welcomed by a world consumed with its own desires. But Paul’s message in 2 Timothy remains steadfast: Stay rooted in the truth. Persevere in the faith. And remember that our hope is not in the approval of human beings, but in the eternal wisdom of God.