1 Timothy

The Sick Obsession

Posted on by Betsy

In Paul’s letter to his young apprentice Timothy, he issued a fair amount of both encouragement and warnings. In the Sixth chapter, Paul cautioned him against any teaching that isn’t consistent with godliness and doesn’t come from the sound and solid Word of Jesus Christ. Then he encouraged Timothy to pursue righteousness, holy living, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. This technique of teaching between the contrasts was a uniquely Pauline device. But take a look at verses 4 and 5 and see if any modern day example comes to mind.

1 Timothy 6 (Common English Bible)

3 If anyone teaches anything different and doesn’t agree with sound teaching about our Lord Jesus Christ and teaching that is consistent with godliness, 4 that person is conceited. They don’t understand anything but have a sick obsession with debates and arguments. This creates jealousy, conflict, verbal abuse, and evil suspicions. 5 There is constant bickering between people whose minds are ruined and who have been robbed of the truth. They think that godliness is a way to make money! 

Paul warned Timothy about the “sick obsession” that leads to debates, arguments, jealousy, conflict, verbal abuse, and evil suspicions. He decried the constant bickering that resulted from this sick obsession. In his time it was the pursuit of riches at the expense of integrity.

When I read verses 4 and 5, I automatically thought about our current obsession with social media. And while that is a very modern take on ancient words, it ends in the same place; the pursuit of wealth. Consider Facebook. What began in a college dormitory as a means of connecting students has erupted into a 1.5 trillion dollar industry. According to Google, founder Mark Zukerberg is one of the top ten billionaires in the world. The love of money has surely fueled all of the changes and growth of parent company Meta, and yet we need to consider the “product” this company produces.

If you are on Facebook, you are likely to have experienced the things Paul cautioned about; debates, arguments, jealousy, verbal abuse and constant bickering. At the time of this writing, a Pew Research Center survey reported that 71% of American adults use Facebook every day. That percentage will go up if current trends continue. Clearly social media profits from human engagement that is too often based on fear, unrealistic comparisons, and anger. It truly is a place where minds are ruined and people are robbed of the truth (verse 5). What would Paul say to this?

Have you been hurt or upset by a Facebook post? I know I have. For all the good that it can bring into our lives, such as connecting families, old friends, and my being able to post these devotionals and you being able to access them every day, Facebook and other forms of social media can certainly be devilish, distracting things. It behooves us to consider how much time we are spending on social media. If we realize that the answer is “too much” what should we do with things that have become sick obsessions? Let’s read the next part of the passage:

11 But as for you, man of God, run away from all these things. Instead, pursue righteousness, holy living, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. 12 Compete in the good fight of faith. Grab hold of eternal life—you were called to it, and you made a good confession of it in the presence of many witnesses. 

Run away.

Pursue righteousness, holy living, faithfulness, endurance, and gentleness. (There is not a lot of gentleness on Facebook.)

Compete in the good fight of faith.

Grab hold of eternal life.

Turn off your screen.

The Gentle Life

Endless Patience

Posted on by Betsy

Do you have something in your past that you would rather forget? I know I do!

Paul’s letter in First Timothy reveals an uncomfortable truth about his past. He reminded Timothy of the time when he was Saul of Tarsus and he violently persecuted Christians for their beliefs. He was present at the stoning of Stephen and was “extremely zealous” and famously violent for persecution “beyond measure” (Galatians 1). He was a Pharisee, a Roman citizen, a tent maker by trade, and yet God used all of his sinful past to convert the world after he first converted Saul on the road to Damascus.

I think it is easy to forget Paul’s violent beginnings as we study his many letters and his theology. Paul brought the Gospel to the modern world in a stunning series of missionary journeys that included imprisonment, shipwrecks, great personal cost, and eventually death. 

This passage in 1 Timothy talks about his appointment to ministry in spite of his past:

1 Timothy 1 (Common English Bible)

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength because he considered me faithful. So, he appointed me to ministry 13 even though I used to speak against him, attack his people, and I was proud. But I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and without faith. 14 Our Lord’s favor poured all over me along with the faithfulness and love that are in Christ Jesus. 

15 This saying is reliable and deserves full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I’m the biggest sinner of all.16 But this is why I was shown mercy, so that Christ Jesus could show his endless patience to me first of all. So, I’m an example for those who are going to believe in him for eternal life. 17 Now to the king of the ages, to the immortal, invisible, and only God, may honor and glory be given to him forever and always! Amen.

What a remarkable reversal!

The persecutor became the proclaimer.

The sinner became the saint.

The faithless one became the leader of the faithful.

The Lord’s favor was poured out over Saul, and he received the faithfulness and love that are in Christ Jesus. Endless patience won out.

What do you have in your past that either enables or hinders you from sharing the gospel? Paul’s story is a powerful reminder of the power of forgiveness of sin to wash away all of our transgressions. It is also a good reminder to us that God loves every sinner and shows mercy and patience to all. When we sit in judgment of other people’s sins, we sit outside of God’s great plan to bring Jesus into the world to save sinners. All the doors of redemption must be left open for the Sauls to come in.

If the “biggest sinner of all” can be made new and whole through the mercy and grace of the Lord, so can the rest of us.

Do you have a story of a past that was changed? With God’s help, you can do great things.

Go and tell!

Poured Out by Kathy Schumacher

‘Tis A Gift To Be Simple

Posted on by Betsy

Stuff happens. Then more stuff happens. And before you know it, stuff has taken over, and you find yourself spending much more time than is reasonable just managing your stuff.

I have been trying to clean out my home office for two weeks. I have found a few treasures under the piles, but for the most part, I uncover something and wonder why the heck I still have it. I have come to the conclusion that stuff has a secret nocturnal reproductive life that we don’t know about. Surely every morning there is more stuff than there was the night before!

Stuff is the biggest challenge for folks who make the crazy decision to move into a tiny house. Made popular by HGTV, tiny houses are a fascinating (if wholly unrealistic!) trend for folks desiring a more simple and uncomplicated life.

Tiny houses range from 300-500 square feet. Think of that: you need to cram a kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, living room, storage space, and an eating table in less than 500 square feet. And then …. where do you put your STUFF?

But what do you really need? If you could pare your life down to the essentials, what would remain? Imagine you had to move into a 300 square foot tiny house: what would you keep, and what would you throw away?

The early church found out. They actually sold all their things so that they could support one another and live together in community, where everyone had what they needed, and nobody had too much:

Acts 2:45-47 Common English Bible (CEB)

45 They would sell pieces of property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to everyone who needed them. 46 Every day, they met together in the temple and ate in their homes. They shared food with gladness and simplicity.

47 They praised God and demonstrated God’s goodness to everyone. The Lord added daily to the community those who were being saved.

They shared, with gladness and simplicity.

Do you ever wish for a simpler life? Is life too complicated? Have you lost sight of the simple delights God has provided? What does the Lord desire for you … more stuff, or more simplicity?

I believe we are all called to simplicity. Removing anything that distracts us from our calling as disciples enables us to experience a certain level of godliness that comes with simple contentment. Paring down to the essentials of what is necessary is a pathway to holiness.

And you might even fit it all in a tiny house, with room left over.

1 Timothy 6 (NIV)

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

It’s that simple!

Beach Cottage Simplicity by Michelle Robertson