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TIMOTHY'S PERSONAL GOALS
I don't know about you but I have never been one
to consciously set goals for myself. As a kid, New Year's Eve was simply
a time stay home and avoid Whiskey Row; a time to stay away from trouble. My
mother's goal for herself and her three kids was simply survival and one way
to do that was to stay home on New Year's Eve. It saved us money and it
saved us from kicking ourselves the next day.
This was also the only goal of the Israelites
in Egypt as they suffered hardship under the cruelty of Pharaoh. When they
were delivered from Egypt they were formed into a nation that had a distinct
covenant with God. They were encouraged and challenged to become
a nation that would glorify God, a nation that would be a blessing to other nations. But
the Israelites were stuck in the "survival" mode. They were in
a rut. A rut, that in the end, cost them their lives.1
Then when the next generation finally entered
the land, after wandering around Mt. Sinai for forty years, they failed to fully
conquer it. They became satisfied with having a place to call home and
allowed pockets of resistance to remain among them. Pockets that eventually
emptied their pockets of all that was good in their lives.2
As Vance Havner, in his book on "Quotes" says, "Some
Christians have no goal, have the wrong goal, some become so occupied with lesser
goals that they fail of the main attainment. The means becomes an end and
they stop far short of the best in preoccupation with the good. Churches
settle down in new buildings and become Laodicean in lukewarm contentment. Ministers
reach a comfortable position and feather their nests so that they no longer fly. The
Israelites in Canaan stopped short of victory and did not (fully) possess the
land. They ran out of goals. So do we. It is possible to be
defeated by one's secondary successes. Thus the good becomes the enemy
of the best and we settle for lesser goals than the heights we might have reached."3
Timothy, as he oversaw the church in Ephesus,
was encompassed by those whose primary goal was to get rich. Some sought
to become rich by catering to those who came to see the great Temple of Artemis;
one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. These were the tradesmen
who peddled their wares on the street and/or provided lodging to the tourist. Others
peddled false doctrines that tickled the ears of all those who listened. Either
way, religion was big business in Ephesus and for the "love of money" some
within the church "wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many
griefs."
In this context, Paul said to Timothy and he says
to us:
But you, Timothy, belong to God; so run from all
these evil things, and follow what is right and good. Pursue a godly life, along
with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight
for what we believe. Hold tightly to the eternal life that God has given you,
which you have confessed so well before many witnesses. 13 And I command
you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good
testimony before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you obey his commands with all
purity. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ
returns. 15 For at the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by
the blessed and only almighty God, the King of kings and Lord of lords. 16
He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can
approach him. No one has ever seen him, nor ever will. To him be honor and power
forever. Amen.
Tell those who are rich in this world not to be
proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their trust
should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 18
Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and
should give generously to those in need, always being ready to share with others
whatever God has given them. 19 By doing this they will be storing up their
treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of real
life.
Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you.
Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called
knowledge. 21 Some people have wandered from the faith by following such
foolishness. May God's grace be with you all.
The false teachers were conceited, quarrelsome,
and greedy. They were men of the world more so than of God. In contrast
to them, Timothy was not to allow himself to be squeezed into the world's mold. He
was to flee the love of money, resist the wayward passions of youth, and pursue
holiness. That is, he was to be in hot pursuit of righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
We see the same encouragement in a somewhat different
context, though with the same motivation, in II Timothy 2:22 - 26 where we read:
Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust.
Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace,
and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
Again I say, don't get involved in foolish, ignorant
arguments that only start fights. 24 The Lord's servants must not quarrel
but must be kind to everyone. They must be able to teach effectively and be patient
with difficult people. 25 They should gently teach those who oppose the
truth. Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will believe the
truth. 26 Then they will come to their senses and escape from the Devil's
trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.
What is interesting to note about these two passages,
and what needs to be noted, is that Timothy was involved in a fight whether he
liked it or not. For on the one hand Paul encouraged him to "fight
the good fight" to "guard what had been entrusted to his care." On
the other hand, Paul made it abundantly clear that nothing was to be gained by
quarreling with the false teachers, with those who opposed him.
Timothy must have said, "Now let me get this
clear. You want me to fight, but you don't want me to fight." To
which Paul responded, "Yes, that's right. I want you to fight. I
want you to stand up for the truth. But I don't want you to fight the way
the world fights - by quarreling about this word and that word. Fight,
but steer clear of stupid arguments that do nothing but further entrench those
who oppose you."
"Okay, I understand what you are telling
me not to do well enough. I'm not to open my big mouth and start arguing
with stupid people. Sorry, I shouldn't have used that word 'stupid'"
"You're excused."
"Now explain it to me one more time. What
are my goals and what weapons should I use?"
Paul cleared his throat and said "The goals
are two in number. First, you are to guard the truth. You are to
stand up for that body of doctrine that was taught to you long ago by your mother
and grandmother. The body of doctrine that I have laid out for you in detail. Second,
you are to behave and speak in such a manner that others will come to their senses
and escape from the trap of the devil."
"Personally, you do this by pursuing righteousness. That
is, in your daily conduct make sure you always do the right thing. If someone
gives you too much change, tell them. If you're called to be on jury duty
don't let outward appearances cloud your judgment.
"You are also to pursue godliness, faith,
and love. That is, you are to diligently keep God as the object of your
worship. You are to do this even when circumstances scream that it makes
no sense to trust in a God you cannot see. Trust in God even when
life tells you that it makes no sense to trust in God, and while you're doing
so love your neighbor by having a servant's heart.
"In this fight there will be times when you
will want to throw in the towel for the flesh is weak and the world just keeps
coming at you. But when the going gets tough you must exercise endurance
and gentleness. That is you must be patient under difficult circumstances
and you must be gentle with difficult people.
"As you yield these weapons you will find
if helpful to hold onto eternal life. That is, take time to remind yourself
through the reading of the Word of all that you have in Christ Jesus our Savior. Savor
it, enjoy it, and be refreshed by it. Also, it will be helpful for you
to remember how Jesus handled himself when he was confronted by Pontius Pilate
who, or so he thought, had the power of life and death over our Savior. Under
difficult circumstances Jesus boldly proclaimed the truth. He proclaimed
that he was indeed a king. Let his strength be your strength.
"On a corporate note, you are to fight the
good fight by commanding those who are rich in this world not to be arrogant
which is so easy to do when you have more than enough money. For money
tends to make people feel self-important, contemptuous of others. As a
result, the rich tend not to reach out to the poor among them.
"But there is an even greater danger involved
with being wealthy. It is the danger of false security. It is so
easy to put our hope in the resources we have managed to accumulate. But
as Jesus warned us, wealth can be here today and gone tomorrow. So it's
important that those who have more than enough to place their trust in God who
richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
"On a more positive note, I would encourage
you to challenge the rich to exchange the wealth that can so easily be lost for
the wealth that can never be lost. In this way they will come alongside
of you in the good fight while laying a solid foundation for the age to come."
At this point I suspect that Timothy was feeling
a little overwhelmed with overseeing the work in Ephesus. Rightly so! He
and others would not be able in their own strength to fight the good fight in
the right way. They would not be able to run from evil and pursue holiness
day-in and day-out without help. And they would not be able to renounce
wealth and cultivate contentment and generosity under their own power.
It is for this reason that Paul concluded this
letter with the words "Grace be with you all." For it is the
transforming and sustaining grace of God that gives us the wisdom and power to
meet each day and each new year in a manner pleasing to Him.
1. A sign on
the Alaska Highway reads, "Choose your
rut carefully. You'll be in it for the next two hundred miles." In
this regard we need to make a distinction between routines and ruts. Routines
may be dull but they allow us to use our time efficiently so as to make time
for life. Ruts are a insidious form of fear that keeps our lives dull
and unproductive.
2. Numbers 33:55 - 56 reads: "But if you fail to drive
out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters
in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where
you live. 56 And I will do to you what I had planned to do to them."
3. Compiled by Dennis J. Hester, The Vance Havner Quote Book,
Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI 49506, 1986, p. 95 - 96.
IN STEP WITH TIMOTHY 1/01/06 1
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