Each passage below is quoted word for word from the King James Version, beginning with the lovers of self Bible verse in 2 Timothy 3 and moving to the scriptures that answer it.
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,
2 Timothy 3:1-2 (KJV)
This is the lovers of self Bible verse in its original home. Paul puts self-love first in a long list, and the rest of the list reads like its children: greed, boasting, pride, ingratitude.
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;
2 Timothy 3:3-4 (KJV)
The list keeps going, and it ends with a contrast that explains everything before it. Pleasure is not the villain here; loving pleasure more than God is.
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2 Timothy 3:5 (KJV)
Paul is not describing outsiders only. These people keep the outward shape of religion, which is why the lovers of self Bible verse is a mirror for believers as much as a warning about the world.
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Philippians 2:3 (KJV)
Vainglory means empty pride. Paul’s cure is lowliness of mind, a settled habit of counting other people’s needs as weighty as your own.
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Philippians 2:4 (KJV)
Notice the word also. Scripture never says to ignore your own life, only to stop looking at it exclusively. This verse is the practical answer to the lovers of self Bible verse.
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Matthew 16:24 (KJV)
Jesus did not say to hate yourself. To deny yourself is to refuse to let your own wants be the final authority, and that is precisely what the lovers of self in Timothy fail to do.
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Romans 12:10 (KJV)
Preferring one another is a competition worth entering. Instead of fighting to be noticed, believers are told to race to notice others first.
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
1 Corinthians 13:5 (KJV)
Love seeketh not her own. If you wanted one line to set against the lovers of self Bible verse, this would be it, because it describes the exact opposite posture.
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
James 3:16 (KJV)
James traces quarrels and disorder back to selfish ambition. Where people guard their own status, confusion follows, in churches, families and workplaces alike.
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
James 4:6 (KJV)
Self-love has a cost beyond bad manners: the proud find God opposing them. The same sentence holds the hopeful part, that grace keeps flowing toward anyone willing to stoop.
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 16:18 (KJV)
An old proverb that fits the lovers of self Bible verse neatly. Pride is rarely a sudden disaster; it is the slow lean before the stumble.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20 (KJV)
Paul describes the real cure for self-centered living. The old self is not improved, it is crucified, and a new life is lived by faith in the One who gave himself.
And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Mark 12:31 (KJV)
Jesus assumes people already love themselves and builds on it. The command is not to love yourself less but to stretch that care outward to the person beside you.
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Romans 15:1 (KJV)
Strength is meant to carry weight for others. Anyone reading the lovers of self Bible verse should ask what their own strength is currently being spent on.
And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
2 Corinthians 5:15 (KJV)
Here is the heart of the matter. Christ’s death was meant to end the life lived unto ourselves, and the lovers of self Bible verse describes the people who never accepted that gift.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1 John 2:16 (KJV)
John names three faces of self-love: appetite, appetite for what we see, and pride in what we have. It reads as a short field guide to the temptation.
For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Mark 10:45 (KJV)
The greatest person who ever lived spent himself on others. After reading the lovers of self Bible verse, this is the portrait to keep in front of you.
The phrase most readers search for comes from a single clause in Paul’s second letter to Timothy: “men shall be lovers of their own selves.” The lovers of self Bible verse is short, but it sits at the front of a list of nineteen character flaws that Paul says will mark difficult times. That placement is not an accident. In the Greek, the word is philautoi, a compound meaning fond of oneself, and it comes before every other vice in the passage.
It helps to read the clause slowly. Paul does not say that people will have self-respect, or that they will take care of their own health, or that they will protect their families. He says they will be lovers of themselves, as though self were the object of their affection and worship. The lovers of self Bible verse is describing a loyalty that has moved to the wrong address.
Second Timothy is the last letter Paul wrote, penned from a Roman prison with the end of his life in sight. He was writing to a younger pastor who was nervous, easily discouraged and responsible for a church that faced real pressure. The lovers of self Bible verse is therefore not a theological essay. It is a seasoned leader telling a friend what to expect and how to stand firm.
That setting changes the tone. Paul is not sneering at the world. He is preparing Timothy for people he will meet, some of them inside the church, and he gives him practical instructions in the following verses: continue in what you have learned, keep your head, preach the word. Whenever we quote the lovers of self Bible verse, it is worth remembering that it was written to protect and strengthen a faithful young man, not to give us ammunition against others.
Paul says these things will happen “in the last days,” and many readers jump straight to the future. Yet in the New Testament the last days began when Christ came, and the whole church age is treated as the final stretch of history. So the lovers of self Bible verse does not wait for some distant generation. Paul tells Timothy to turn away from such people, which means they were already around him.
This is a good reason to hold the passage with humility. Every generation has been tempted to say that its own era is the worst, and every generation has had its share of boastful, ungrateful and self-absorbed people. Reading the lovers of self Bible verse as a description of the human heart across all time keeps us honest. The warning is as true for the first century as it is for this one.
The Greek word philautos appears only here in the New Testament, so Paul chose it deliberately. Philos is the common word for affection, the love between friends, and autos means self. Put together, it paints a person who treats themselves as their dearest friend and whose life revolves around that friendship. In English, the lovers of self Bible verse sometimes reads as a mild phrase. In the original, it is pointed.
Ancient moral writers also used the term, usually as a warning. Greek philosophers noted that excessive self-regard was the root of many other faults, and Paul seems to be borrowing that common recognition and giving it a sharper edge. In his list, the lovers of self Bible verse comes first because everything after it grows from it: if I am the center, then money, status and comfort become my tools, and people become obstacles or audiences.
Look at how the list proceeds. After self comes covetousness, the wish to have more. Then boasting and pride, the wish to be seen. Then blasphemy, disobedience to parents and ingratitude, all forms of refusing to honor anyone above ourselves. The lovers of self Bible verse is the engine, and the following vices are what it produces when it runs.
This is a useful pattern for self-examination. If I notice envy, a short temper or a craving for attention in myself, I can ask whether self-love is underneath it. Paul would not have us treat each symptom separately and miss the cause. The lovers of self Bible verse tells us to look at the root, and Scripture elsewhere tells us what to do about it.
Some readers hear the lovers of self Bible verse and conclude that any attention to their own wellbeing is sinful. That is not what the text says. Jesus took naps, went away to quiet places to pray and told his disciples to rest. Caring for your body, accepting help and keeping boundaries are not the sin Paul has in view.
The difference lies in who sits on the throne. Healthy self-care asks, what do I need so that I can serve well? Selfish self-love asks, what can I get no matter who is hurt? The lovers of self Bible verse is aimed at the second attitude. A tired nurse who takes a night off to recover is not what Paul was warning about, but a person who consistently puts comfort ahead of every commitment is much closer to it.
When Jesus summarized the law, he said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Notice that he did not correct the second half. He took for granted that people naturally look after themselves, feeding, clothing and defending their own interests with great energy, and he asked that the same energy be spent on someone else. In that sense, the lovers of self Bible verse and the great commandment are two sides of one coin.
Try this as an exercise. Think about how quickly you notice when you are hungry, slighted or overlooked. Then ask how quickly you notice the same things about a coworker or a neighbor. The lovers of self Bible verse is not a call to despise yourself, but a call to make your attention more generous. Bible verses about selfishness go deeper into this idea.
In Matthew 16, Jesus told the disciples that anyone who wants to follow him must deny himself and take up his cross. That sentence is the heart of the New Testament answer to the lovers of self Bible verse. To deny yourself is not to erase your personality, but to refuse to let your desires have the final vote.
Peter had just tried to talk Jesus out of the cross, and Jesus replied sharply because Peter was thinking about the things of men. The same contrast shows up again in Paul’s list: lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Both passages come down to a question of priority. When what I want and what God wants conflict, whom do I follow? The lovers of self Bible verse is the answer to that question gone wrong.
Few themes recur in Scripture as often as pride. Proverbs warns that pride goes before destruction, James says God resists the proud, and Isaiah describes the fall of a heart that said, I will ascend. The lovers of self Bible verse belongs in this long family of passages, because self-love, left unchecked, turns into pride sooner or later.
You can see the pattern in everyday life. A person who is mostly concerned with their own image will have trouble apologizing, trouble celebrating a colleague’s success and trouble asking for help. Each small refusal grows from the same seed. If you want to study the theme further, Bible verses about pride and pride and humility in Scripture are good companions to the lovers of self Bible verse.
Right beside self-love in Paul’s list stand boasters. A boaster is someone for whom every conversation is a stage. Social media has made the temptation louder, because it is now possible to curate a version of yourself and watch the numbers climb. The lovers of self Bible verse does not mention technology, but it describes the appetite that technology feeds.
Scripture offers a calm alternative. Jeremiah says that if anyone must boast, he should boast that he understands and knows the Lord. Paul himself, a man with an impressive resume, said he would rather boast of his weaknesses. This is one of the quieter gifts of the lovers of self Bible verse: it invites us to ask what we are really advertising with our words, our posts and our clothes.
The second half of the list ends with the line, “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” Pleasure itself is a good gift. The Bible celebrates feasts, music, marriage and rest. What Paul criticizes is the order of love. When pleasure outranks God, it becomes an idol, and the lovers of self Bible verse reaches its conclusion.
This helps explain why the passage can feel uncomfortable even to people who are generous and kind. We may be decent neighbors and still treat comfort as the thing that decides our weekends, our spending and our schedules. The lovers of self Bible verse asks us to look at which love is winning, not at whether we are outwardly respectable.
Verse 5 is the most unsettling part of the passage: “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” These people are religious. They know the vocabulary and attend the meetings. Yet something is missing, because their religion has been bent toward serving themselves. The lovers of self Bible verse therefore includes a warning for church members as well as outsiders.
Religion can be used for self-promotion, for control or for comfort without real change. Jesus spoke sharply about this kind of display when he described those who prayed on street corners to be seen by others. A faith that has power changes how we treat the people around us. If the lovers of self Bible verse leaves us only more confident that others are the problem, we have probably missed it.
Paul ends the paragraph with a command: from such turn away. This does not mean cruelty or cutting off every difficult person. It means refusing to be shaped by their example and, in cases of unrepentant harm, keeping a safe distance. The lovers of self Bible verse comes with its own protective advice.
In practice, this might look like choosing friends who will tell you the truth, leaving a group that rewards bragging, or setting limits with someone who treats every conversation as a contest. It might also look like quietly repenting of the same habits in ourselves. Turning away is first of all a movement of our own feet. The lovers of self Bible verse is not a license to judge but a prompt to choose our company carefully.
Some people respond to the lovers of self Bible verse by sinking into self-contempt. That is not the way out. Self-hatred is just another form of self-focus, still obsessed with me, only gloomier. Paul’s answer in Galatians is that the old self was crucified with Christ and a new life is lived by faith in the one who loved him and gave himself.
This is good news because it does not depend on willpower. We are not asked to produce an unselfish heart by effort alone. We are invited to be joined to the One who emptied himself for others, and to let his life grow in us. The lovers of self Bible verse exposes the problem, and the gospel supplies the remedy.
Philippians 2 is the best companion passage to the lovers of self Bible verse. Paul tells the church to do nothing from selfish ambition or vainglory and then describes Christ, who, though equal with God, took the form of a servant. The call to humility is rooted in a person, not a theory.
Notice the practical edge. Esteem others better than yourselves; look also on the things of others. These are concrete tasks, and they can be practiced this afternoon. Listen to a colleague without planning your reply. Let someone else take the credit. The lovers of self Bible verse tells us what to avoid, and Philippians shows us the path to walk instead. See also Bible verses about humility.
Service is what self-love looks like when it is turned inside out. Jesus washed feet, and Mark says he came to minister rather than be ministered to. An easy test of whether the lovers of self Bible verse is describing me is to ask how much of my week goes to helping people who cannot repay me.
You do not need a grand project. Cooking a meal for a neighbor who is unwell, driving a relative to an appointment, or staying late to help a colleague are small acts that train the heart in a different direction. Over months they loosen the grip of self-love more effectively than guilt does. Our page on Bible verses about servanthood offers further encouragement.
The lovers of self Bible verse is not just a commentary on culture; it shows up at the kitchen table. In a marriage, self-love sounds like keeping score, withholding affection until I am treated well or assuming my schedule matters more than my spouse’s. In a family, it sounds like parents who need to win every argument or children who are praised for performance alone.
The answer in each case is the same as the answer in Philippians: look also at the interests of the other person. Many couples find that when both people try to out-serve each other, many arguments lose their heat. The lovers of self Bible verse becomes a diagnostic for home life and, thankfully, a prompt for repair.
Workplaces can reward self-promotion. A person who takes credit, stays visible and shifts blame may seem to advance faster. The lovers of self Bible verse warns that this path carries its own cost, and Proverbs suggests that character lasts longer than reputation. Leaders who serve their teams earn a loyalty that title alone cannot buy.
For a Christian in leadership, the pattern of Jesus matters most. He took the towel. He asked his disciples to lead by serving, not by lording it over others. If you manage people, you can apply the lovers of self Bible verse by asking each week how you have helped your team succeed, and whether anyone feels smaller because of your leadership. Bible verses about servant leadership can help.
Paul places covetous right after lovers of their own selves, and it is easy to see why. Money is the most common instrument of self-love, because it buys comfort, safety and status. The lovers of self Bible verse and the warnings about wealth in the Bible belong together, as Paul told Timothy elsewhere that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
Generosity is the practical medicine. When we give away part of what we earn, we remind ourselves that it was never ours alone. Even small, regular gifts shift the heart over time. If the lovers of self Bible verse stirs your conscience about spending, read the love of money Bible verse and consider one concrete gift you can make this week.
Every era finds new ways to feed old appetites. Photographs, followers and likes make it easy to measure how others see us, and easy to drift toward performing a version of ourselves. The lovers of self Bible verse was written long before a smartphone existed, but its description of boasters and the proud fits the scene with surprising ease.
A few simple practices can help. Pause before posting and ask who the post is for. Celebrate other people’s good news in public. Take regular breaks from feeds that make you envious. None of this is a rule from Scripture, only wisdom drawn from it, and the lovers of self Bible verse is a good reason to try it.
Children are not born with an instinct for sharing, and parents who want them to grow into generous adults need patient training. The lovers of self Bible verse does not tell us to shame them, but it does remind us to model what we want to see. A child who watches a parent apologize, serve and give learns far more than one who only hears lectures.
Praise effort and kindness more than appearance or winning, and give children small responsibilities for others, such as feeding a pet or helping a younger sibling. Read Philippians 2:3-4 together and talk about what it looks like at school. These habits plant seeds that blossom later, and they answer the lovers of self Bible verse before it ever becomes a problem.
Reading the lovers of self Bible verse is most useful when it begins with a question to ourselves. Do I find it easy to listen? Do I need to be right? Do I resent the success of others? Do I give without needing credit? These questions are not meant to produce despair, only honesty.
Psalm 139 closes with a prayer worth borrowing: search me, O God, and know my heart. Praying that sentence slowly, a few minutes each morning, invites the Spirit to point out the places where self has taken too large a role. The lovers of self Bible verse then stops being a headline about other people and becomes a gentle diagnostic for our own growth.
The Bible never leaves the proud without hope. James says God resists the proud, but he adds immediately that he gives grace to the humble. Anyone, including a person who has lived for themselves for decades, can change direction. The lovers of self Bible verse is not a final verdict on any individual.
Think of Zacchaeus, a wealthy tax collector who had profited at others’ expense, and who responded to Jesus by giving half of his goods to the poor. Think of Paul himself, a proud persecutor transformed into a servant. The lovers of self Bible verse shows us the problem, but the rest of Scripture shows us that grace is stronger than the problem.
If you want to respond to the lovers of self Bible verse in a concrete way, begin small. Choose one person this week and do something kind for them without telling anyone. Memorize Philippians 2:3-4 and repeat it when you feel annoyed. Spend ten minutes in prayer thanking God for specific people, so that your attention shifts outward.
Next, invite a trusted friend to speak honestly about your blind spots, and listen without defending yourself. Finally, serve regularly in a church or community project. Practices like these do not earn God’s love, but they place you where his love can reshape you. The lovers of self Bible verse becomes less frightening when we see it as an invitation to grow.
If this study has interested you, read the surrounding chapters. Second Timothy 3 continues with Paul’s instructions to Timothy about Scripture, which is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness. That is the antidote to the world described in the lovers of self Bible verse. Romans 1, James 3 and 1 Peter 5 explore related themes.
You may also want to compare translations on Bible verses about the end times to see how other passages describe the same period. Each reading adds depth, and the lovers of self Bible verse becomes part of a larger conversation across the New Testament about character, hope and perseverance.
The lovers of self Bible verse is short, but it carries a sober message: a life centered on self ends in emptiness, and a life centered on God and neighbor ends in joy. Paul wrote it to encourage a young friend to stay faithful in hard times, and it still serves that purpose.
Let the verse do its quiet work. Ask God to loosen your grip on yourself and to give you eyes for others. Then take one small step today. The same Christ who gave himself for us will meet you there, and the lovers of self Bible verse will become, over time, a story about what grace has done rather than a warning about what we might become.
If the lovers of self Bible verse has set you thinking about pride and service, these related collections are a good place to continue: Bible verses about selfishness, Bible verses about pride, Pride and humility in Scripture, Bible verses about humility, Verses for growing in humility, The pride of life Bible verse, Love of money Bible verse, Bible verses about servanthood, Servant leadership in the Bible, Heart of a servant Bible verse, Bible verses about the end times, Bible verses about kindness.
To study these verses in more depth, try Bible Gateway, Bible Hub, Bible Study Tools, Blue Letter Bible.
It is in 2 Timothy 3:2, where Paul writes that in the last days men will be lovers of their own selves. The lovers of self Bible verse opens a list of traits that continues through verse 5, and the surrounding paragraph is worth reading in full.
No. Jesus told us to love our neighbor as ourselves, which assumes a healthy care for our own life. The lovers of self Bible verse targets selfishness, the habit of putting my wants above God and other people.
Paul uses the word philautos, from philos (fond of) and autos (self). It describes someone whose chief affection is directed at themselves. In the lovers of self Bible verse, it stands first among the vices that follow from it.
Paul says last days, which the New Testament uses for the whole period after Christ came. So the lovers of self Bible verse describes a pattern present in his own day and in ours, not only a distant future generation.
Start with honest prayer, asking God to show you where self has taken too much room. Then practice small acts of service and memorize Philippians 2:3-4. The lovers of self Bible verse becomes an invitation to change when we answer it with action.
Philippians 2:3-4, Romans 12:10 and Mark 10:45 are strong answers. Each shows what it looks like to put others first, and together they give the positive picture behind the warning in the lovers of self Bible verse.
