Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them. Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you. 1 Timothy 4:12b-16
If you have never had a weight
problem you can probably skip this devotion and go on to the funny
papers. There is that moment of panic at
every doctor’s appointment when you’re waiting in the waiting room, and your
name is called out. The panic arrives
because the time has arrived when the intake person will say quite flatly as
you’re being led down the hallway, let’s just stop here and let you get
on the scale. I want to snap
back, uh…LET me get on the scale?
What makes you think I WANT to do that?
And who put you in charge of how much I weigh. Frankly that’s none o’ yer dang business!
But I don’t say any of that. I just get on the dreaded scale and take my
lumps. (Mind you, I was thinking
it – was guilty of the rage – so I don’t get any points
for moderation of my temper – only perhaps longsuffering…VERY
long)!
So, what does being annoyed at
my doctor’s office have to do with preaching?
In a word, EVERYTHING! The scenario I just described also illustrates
the chief element of Paul’s advice to his young preaching protégé, Timothy,
namely keeping your actions in line, even when you don’t feel like it. If someone has been preaching for more than a
little while, that preacher understands the weight of being observed by the
world’s critics. The community wants to
know if the living is going to live-up to the preaching. If it doesn’t, the things you do will speak
so loudly, no one will hear what you say.
Timothy was young, very
young. And Timothy was gifted with a
command of the Scriptures – sufficient enough for Paul to sign his ordination certificate. But in this passage, Paul makes sure to cover
the ground rules of ethical living. Paul
knew that knowledge is a good thing, but knowing must be held in the cradle of
pure motive, AND actions. What you say
and what you do must be held in close proximity.
Now, no preacher is perfect in
either heart or actions, and those of us who preach do well to stay off the
pedestal that some want us to ascend; that never ends pretty! But, says the apostle Paul, your main job, if
you’re going to preach an unhindered Gospel is to work toward that perfection,
even while you’re avoiding the pedestal!
For You Today
If you’re the type that
preaches, or if you’re a preacher-watcher, remember to cut him or her some
slack – at the bottom line a preacher is a struggling sibling of yours in Christ. If you want to be kind, just don’t ask him to
get on the scale!
Go to VIDEO
[1]
Title Image: Courtesy of By
Johnsnow1234 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The
New Living Translation©
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