by Michael G. Mickey

(11-27-05)

2nd Timothy 3:1-5: This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Matthew 24:12: And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

Have you just read a description of many people you presently know? I see descriptions of people I personally know within those Scriptures, mostly because I'm a police officer, but I think it would be true even if that wasn't the case. Sad, isn't it? It's especially sad when those whose hearts have grown cold are children.

As disturbing as it sometimes is for me to realize just how far the world we're living in has descended into darkness as the time of our Lord's return draws near, one of the most disturbing things I see is how children have come to think of their parents. Gone, it seems, are the days when children revered, loved and honored their parents, regardless of their parenting decisions. In place of loving parent-child relationships, it seems what we often have in these end times is children filled with anger, resentment, and utter hatred of authority, especially parental authority.

Before I continue, let me state that I personally know many wonderful children, including my own, that are very loving and considerate of their parents. Clearly, I'm not speaking of those children in this commentary. I'm speaking of the ones I often see during the performance of my duties and in the news of our world today - those so cold and uncaring that it chills me, as I'm sure it does many of you, to the core.

An example of disobedient, unthankful, and cold-hearted children is found in a Guardian Unlimited story I stumbled upon recently. According to the story, a 15-year-old methodically shot each member of his family as they returned home from work and school recently, between watching portions of the movie 'Shrek', believe it or not! Talk about cold-hearted!

The young man in question had an essay to write, the article suggests, one he apparently was upset his parents wanted him to prepare for school. As he sat on the couch, presumably, watching 'Shrek', he decided he was going to have to kill his parents as a result of being "fed up" with how he was being treated by them. The final straw, the article seems to indicate, was his mother's decision to forbid him from playing play football until he first completed his essay. Yes, this child's heart, for whatever reason, had grown so cold and rebellious that he plotted to kill his parents over having to write an essay! God help us!

In the afternoon around 3 p.m., the young boy first blasted his mother with a shotgun, killing her. He spared his four-year-old brother's life by taking him upstairs to play. Back to watching 'Shrek'.

Next up, the young man shot his sister with the shotgun at approximately 4:30 p.m., leaving her seriously wounded in the hallway. She would be the only family member other than the killer to survive.

What became of the four-year-old brother he took upstairs to play? He shot him to death right after he shot his sister, after the frightened child began "howling in fright" according to the story. Lastly, the boy shot his father twice at point-blank range when he returned home from work.

I don't know whether the heartless child got to see the end of 'Shrek' or not, but how powerful is evil in the world today that children so young can be so bold in committing such horror, showing no evidence of remorse or conscience?

And then there is the recent Associated Press story of a 14-year-old Pennsylvania girl whose 18-year-old boyfriend shot her parents to death after her father asked him to stop seeing her. Soon after the boyfriend had gunned her parents down in what he described as "intentional murder", he pulled out of the murdered parents' driveway after being unable to locate his girlfriend.

As this cold-blooded, murderous boyfriend started to drive away, according to him, his young girlfriend ran toward his car. Did she want to avenge her parents' murders? No. She wanted to go with him, to "get as far away as possible, get married, and start a new life", according to the killer's account presented in the story, which I have to believe is somewhat accurate in the opinion of the law enforcement officers involved in the investigation, primarily because kidnapping charges against him have been dropped.

How sad it is to consider the possibility this young, impressionable girl truly left her dead or dying parents' side to go on a road trip with their murderer! Apparently, she loved the young man before he killed her parents and continued to love him above her parents in spite of what he did to them, perhaps in her presence, moments earlier.

In the prophetic Scriptures, we have been told that events like these, presently taking place because the love of rebellious children has grown cold toward their parents, will be common in the end times --- and they demonstrably are!

Although I recall being angered by my parents on a few occasions during my childhood, and even entertaining a violent thought here and there concerning them, any anger I felt dissolved quickly when my knee-jerk reaction to them punishing me passed and I started to reflect on the love they had always shown me, even in punishing me for things I knew, just as well as they did, I shouldn't have done in the first place. That doesn't seem to be happening as much these days and I believe there's something to it.

I believe cold-hearted children who are disobedient to their parents are on the increase in our world today --- a sign that Jesus Christ is coming soon! If you don't believe me, scroll back up and read the applicable prophecies as the present trend is directly connected to the last days.

Keep looking up!