Demas

Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.

A friend mentioned this.
It’s a harsh verse.
It makes me catch my breath.

Did Demas long for movies and chocolates,
Or whatever other pleasures of the world,
And so went off to pursue them,
Finding the gospel less satisfying?
That is how I have read this verse in the past.

Or did he simply grow weary of laboring
Without much result?
Paul’s imprisonment, perhaps, not quite what he expected.

And I wonder: would I desert Paul?

Life long daily faithfulness:
A stiff demand.