Author: Joshua Kansiewicz

“For, At just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen.”

I always have a song stuck in my head.  At one point this week it was a song I learned in third grade called “Fried Ham.”  The next day it was an R.E.M. song: “It’s the End of the World As We Know It.” A few hours later it was a worship song: “I Am No Victim.” Each song was triggered by something in the world around me: a ham dinner, an overreaction by a little kid, a news article.  That’s the power of music – it sticks with you, and at the moment you least expect it, a song jumps to mind.

As Paul closes his letter to Timothy, his own writing causes a song to jump to mind.  This happens periodically with Paul. It might be a poem that he himself wrote. Iit is more likely, however that it is a song he knew, perhaps a worship song from the time.  This particular song is rich with deep thoughts. It speaks of the imminent return of Jesus as King of kings. Then it makes a poetic reference to him as the one who “lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach…” This is a reminiscent of the visions of God that several Old Testament Prophets had, particularly Ezekiel (Ez. 1) and Isaiah (Is. 6).  The similarity continues with the celebratory worship phrase “All honor and power to him forever!” which is similar to the angelic song found in Isaiah. Putting it all together, the song Paul quotes places Jesus squarely on the one throne whereupon dwells the One God of Israel. It is a beautiful declaration of the deity of Jesus.

Here is your freedom for today: wisely chosen songs can lift the mind and heal the heart.  The words of this song are deep, rich and profound. They draw the mind and the heart to the true center of the universe: the throne of God.  They add beautiful complexity to our thoughts by painting Jesus into his rightful place on the throne. They inspire hope by reminding us of our great king’s ultimate return.  The words of this song are perfect to help you rejoice on a great day; they are just as perfect to help carry you through a difficult and challenging day. Great songs can often do both.  So what songs are you filling your mind with? Will they draw you closer to the King? Will they encourage and inspire you? Will they teach and train you? These are important questions because whatever you hear today will inform what you think and how you feel tomorrow.  

 

“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. Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.”

I remember the first time I got Poison Ivy.  I was nine years old, and I was helping my dad clear brush at my grandmother’s house.  There was this big hill on one side of her yard, and it was overgrown so thickly that you couldn’t even walk into it.  So, for hours in the hot sun, we cut down and dragged away vines and brush and weeds. The next day, my fingers were uncomfortably itchy.  Soon the skin began to swell and bubble. It got worse when I scratched it, but somehow I couldn’t help it. For days, it drove me crazy. My case of Poison Ivy was so bad that I still have a scar on my left hand from it.  From that day on, I made such to avoid Poison Ivy no matter what.

Paul here is challenging Timothy and us to treat sin and evil like Poison Ivy.  No person who has had Poison Ivy will ever pick it up to examine it. Rather, he would go out of his way to avoid it, staying on paths that are sure to be clear of the stuff.  Sin and evil are far more destructive than Poison Ivy. They harm our relationships, our finances, our self-image, our bodies. They harm those we love and those we want most to care for.  Paul challenges us to keep in mind the inevitable consequences of sin. So even if it starts off looking harmless (much like a Poison Ivy plant might look harmless), keep clear of it.

Here’s your freedom for today: avoiding sin always costs less than exposing yourself to it.  But how do we avoid sin? Paul gives us this direction: “Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.”  If we seek to retrain our character towards these virtues we will eventually find ourselves losing our appetite for sin. Then we will really begin to understand what freedom is all about.  

 

“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 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. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. 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. 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.”

Tonight my wife and I went out for a date.  We also ran some errands. We went to a thrift store and got some fall clothes.  We stopped by Home Depot to get a few things for the yard. We ran by Christmas Tree Shops to get some fall decorations.  We stopped at Burlington Coat Factory to get a new winter jacket for me. All the while, we celebrated our great deals. We had a gift card, and some coupons, and the entire night cost a fraction of what it could have.  Yet when I read verses like this I begin to wonder: am I content?

Paul here sets an ideal for the follower of Jesus: godliness with contentment.  In case we need a clearer standard he lays out what he means: “if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.”  The point is clear: unbridled desire is dangerous, and unbridled desire means wanting more than an adequate amount of food and clothing. It is especially dangerous because it is especially easy to justify. We can so easily make excuses.  Yet at its core the issue is simple: am I content or do I spend my life wanting more?

Here’s your freedom for today: God has empowered you to take mastery over your desires.  You are not their slave. If we choose the pathway of self-denial, we will eventually find our self-centered desires being transformed into godly desires.  If we choose to say “no” to our desires, we will eventually find ourselves learning contentment. That is an exciting promise, because as Paul says “true godliness with contentment is great wealth.”

 

“Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life. Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions. These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.”

Before I became a parent myself, some friends of ours invited us to go and watch their son’s soccer game.  He was six, and it was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. This group of kids had been taught to be kind and share, but that wasn’t helping.  The team with the gold shirts happily kicked the ball to the team with the purple shirts. They team with the purple shirts stopped to cheer for the team with the gold shirts.  The whole thing may have been an example of good manners, but it was awful soccer.

In these verses, Paul draws a line.  He has spent this entire letter telling Timothy to teach the truth and to train other leaders to teach the truth.  Now he acknowledges an important fact: there will be teachers who are teaching something else. Paul draws a sharp line between teachers like himself who teach the truth as it is found in Jesus and these other teachers.  He does not seek to be empathetic or tolerant. Instead he speaks in starkly negative terms. Why? Because untruth is destructive.

Here’s your freedom for today: the truth is worth fighting for.  Paul devoted himself to knowing the truth, understanding the truth, and teaching the truth. He took a strong and uncompromising stand against those who taught lies, deceptions or half truths. (Note that he took this hard stand against those who taught deception, not those who believed it). The Bible teaches that “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).  That is only true if you know the truth. It is only true in the lives of others if they learn the truth. The truth has great potential for freedom, so devote yourself to it. Devote yourself to knowing and standing for the truth.  It has the power to set the entire world free.

 

“All slaves should show full respect for their masters so they will not bring shame on the name of God and his teaching. If the masters are believers, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. Those slaves should work all the harder because their efforts are helping other believers who are well loved.”

“How can anyone trust the Bible?” he asked.  “After all, isn’t the Bible pro-slavery?” We were talking about what it meant to let Jesus lead your life, and we had gotten as far as accepting the Bible as God’s word.  This is where he got tripped up, because the Bible didn’t seem like a very modern book. It certainly didn’t seem like a trustworthy book. So he asked his question and then waited to see what I’d say.  

Today’s verses from 1 Timothy are several from among the range of verses that address slaves. First, it is important to note that slavery in Paul’s era had little in common with modern-day slavery or with the slavery of American history. Second of all, note that the verses address slaves, not the concept of slavery.  These verses are not written to men and women who have society-wide impact about how to address a social institution. They are written to a community of believers that included some people who were actual slaves themselves. What does it mean to live life by Jesus’ rules if you are a slave? The answer: respect your master.  This is powerfully consistent with Jesus’ own teaching that his followers should love their enemies.

Here’s your freedom for today: God’s love can empower us to love the unlovable.  From the perspective of a slave, who could be less lovable than a slave-owner? Who could be less worthy of respect than a person who believes that he can own another human being?  There is no human reason to show love or respect in a situation like that. From a human point of view, from the perspective of human rights, the slave has every right to hate and disrespect his master.  Jesus, however, calls every person in every situation to act out of love. This doesn’t mean acceptance of evil social forces or practices. It doesn’t mean condoning injustice. The challenge is far greater than that: to show the love of the crucified Christ even in the midst of taking a powerful moral stand against evil.  Only the power of God can release us to do that.