“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.” – 1 Timothy 6:11
Outside of work, my life revolves around kids. Not my own, obviously, but rather around the kids I teach throughout the week. Whether these children be church kids or inner city kids, one thing is the same about every single one of them – they’re watching me. Ok, that sounded a little creepy, but it’s true. They are watching every part of my attitude, behavior, and body language. I hope that what they see through me is righteousness. It’s sure not what they see in the world, though.
These past days, weeks, and months have been riddled with talk of people living unrighteously. Some have behaved in ways – in their past and in the present – that are unrighteous; hurting, scarring, and letting down those around them. Some have spoken unrighetously – in person or on social media; giving others the impression that this is the way society interacts with one another. Our world has people that have unrighteous thoughts; creating and developing content that tempts people to live sinful lives. It’s a royal mess.
In his letter to Timothy, Paul tells him how crazy the world is and will be; he urges Timothy to make sure that the things that he teaches and the lifestyle he displays is that which is sound in Christ (1 Timothy 6:2-10). Speaking as a mentor to mentee, Paul encourages Timothy, “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11). He’s reminding Timothy that no matter what goes on around him, no matter how unrighteous society becomes, to strive to be a person who constantly and consistently pursues righteous living.
News flash. The stories we hear and see are only going to continue and will probably get worse. That’s what sin does – it infects and festers continually. That’s why people need Jesus and his forgiveness of those sins. Paul for sure knew unrighteousness wasn’t going to let up. The theme of righteous living is all through 1 Timothy and continues even into 2 Timothy. Paul, however, offers hope and a solution for how to help Timothy, and us in the world we find ourselves in; he says:
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, and you know that from childhood you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14-17)
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