basic instructions

Paul thought of Timothy as his son. There was no genetic connection, but a connection brought about by working together, & by doing life together.

I understand that completely – I have a few sons & daughters like that ;-)

In these 4 passages, Paul has some instructions & insights for the man, Timothy, that is so important to the work that Paul had been doing – but these instructions & insights also were for a man Paul had a very close & familiar relationship – one of a father & a son.

These are basic instructions about some simple truths, that not only applied to Timothy back in the day, but also are pertinent to our individual lives.

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 1 Timothy 5



24 Remember, the sins of some people are obvious,



leading them to certain judgment.



But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later.



25 In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious.



And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light.






iow, eventually who & what we are will be revealed for all to see.



Hmmmmm...



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1 Timothy 6

6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.

7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world,

and we can't take anything with us when we leave it.

8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

  9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

Paul always had a lot to say about the wealthy – for that matter, so did Jesus.

Here Paul says something specific about money – the love of which comes with all kinds of pitfalls.

I think it's important to note that Paul is talking about the love of money – not money itself.

He's talking about a love for something that supercedes other things in our lives that should take precedent over a love fore something material.

And is this word appropriate for today, when there seems to be a widespread concern with money & the accumulation of it, to the detriment of many or most of the other areas of our lives?

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1 Timothy 6

11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God;

so run from all these evil things.

Pursue righteousness and a godly life,

along with faith,

love,

perseverance,

and gentleness.

12 Fight the good fight for the true faith.

Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you,

which you have confessed so well before many witnesses.

I get the feeling Timothy was very much a red blooded kind of guy, flung into an incredibly evil & sensual world – kinda like our world today ;-)

And Paul, like any good father, is aware of what the world hurls at Timothy, & gives him some simple guidelines with which to live in his world.

And these simple guidelines work for us today just as well as they worked for Timothy.

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1 Timothy 6

17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable.

Their trust should be in 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 generous to those in need,

always being ready to share with others.

19 By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

Paul always had plenty to say about the rich & what they should be doing with all that money they had.

I think it also follows that what Paul had to say about the rich back then pertains to people today.

Btw, most of us would be considered rich, compared to the rest of the world – it doesn't matter whether we think we are or not – compared with the rest of the world, we've got it pretty good.