Demas?

"Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone. . . ." (2 Timothy 4:10)

I've been wondering about Demas for a while.

During the imprisonment when the Apostle Paul wrote several of the New Testament Epistles, Demas was there with the "Prisoner of Christ." Apparently he was well known in the Christian community; Paul passed greetings from him to the believers at Colossae and to Philemon. (Colossians 4:14, Philemon 24) He is called a fellow worker. Being on the same team as the great Apostle is quite a line for ones resume.

But at the end of Paul's life, Demas had decided to go elsewhere. He wanted something else. He forsook his old friend. I wonder what was in Thessalonica that attracted him so? Based on some Demases I have known, and the inner Demas that tempts me, here are some possibilities:

• There is short-term enjoyment in sin. Moses turned it down in favor of permanent benefits. (Hebrews 11:25-26) Demas may have been looking over Paul's shoulder, when he wrote, "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.". (Colossians 3:2) Like the prodigal son, though, he decided in favor of the here and now.
  
• I figure that Demas didn't make the decision all at once. Certainly Lot--an Old Testament counterpart--didn't. You can follow his decline in Genesis 13. He looked, chose, and moved toward that wicked place. He was a part of the City of Sodom in chapter 14 and when we get to chapter 19, he has become a leader there.
  
• There is a need for constant vigilance. "Be sober, be on the alert." Why, because the enemy of God's people, one who is integrally involved in and holds power over this world, goes about like a lion looking for a meal. (1 Peter 5:8, Ephesians 2:2, & 1 John 5:19)
  
• Maybe Demas had watched Paul be treated badly and decided he wanted better, not taking into consideration that by walking away from what seemed negative he was forsaking the infinitely positive. It takes grace to rejoice that you have "been considered worthy to suffer shame for Hisname." (Acts 5:41)

I'm sure Paul wrote about his friend and former co-worker with a great deal of sadness. I'm not sure exactly what happened to Demas. I'm looking to God's grace to keep it from happening to me

Lord, keep me from following the pattern of Demas. May I be faithful like Timothy. Amen.

It's STTA.