Author: Joshua Kansiewicz

“I solemnly command you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the highest angels to obey these instructions without taking sides or showing favoritism to anyone. Never be in a hurry about appointing a church leader. Do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. Don’t drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often. 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. In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light.”

I had just finished a really fun, light-hearted meeting with a newer guy at the church. We had talked about baseball, and our kids, and his job.  He’d told me about growing up in Connecticut and about how much he liked action movies. We had a lot in common, and it was an easy “get-to-know-you” meeting.  As the conversation drew to a close, he stood up and walked to the door. As his hand rested on the doorknob, he turned around. “By the way,” he said, “do you know anything about abuse?” He had saved the real reason for the meeting until literally the last possible second.  Over the next few months we met quite a few times. Those conversations were not easy, but they were helpful. He was able to open up, and through that to explore the path of healing in his life.

Many of Paul’s letters often end with that sort of hurried last minute sort of comments.  If Paul were writing today, it would be a series of P.S.’s. For him, however, it’s just a final list of quick commands.  They are often very practical and very challenging. And for Paul, as you can see by how he introduces this set of comments, they are incredibly important.  Sometimes they are recap statements, like when he says “Never be in a hurry about appointing a church leader.” He already said that, but he’s wanting to make sure we don’t forget.  Other times, they are completely new thoughts like “the sins of some people are obvious….But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later.” Whether a new idea or a recap idea, however, we can be sure of this: Paul thinks they are important, and so should we.

Here’s your freedom for today: listen to the Bible’s commands.  The importance of what the Bible says can’t be judged by how many words it takes to say it.  A command that is explained across several chapters isn’t necessarily more important than a simple command that is simply said once.  Regardless of how much explanation is offered, each command in the Bible is an offer of freedom. If we follow the Bible’s commands, we will find ourselves living the most wholesome, healthy, fulfilling lives possible.  If we ignore the Bible’s commands, we will never know how much we are missing out on. So don’t always rush through reading, especially through a list like this one. Take the time to reflect and ask yourself questions about your own obedience.  Even a single sentence in the Bible has the power to completely change your life.

 

“Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” And in another place, “Those who work deserve their pay!” Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is confirmed by two or three witnesses. Those who sin should be reprimanded in front of the whole church; this will serve as a strong warning to others.”

When I was in college, I visited dozens of different churches.  In some I saw the pastor deeply respected and revered. He was seen as a leader to follow – a vision caster.  In other churches, however, the pastor was treated as everyone’s personal employee – he was paid to carry out the will of the people. Since I was preparing to be a pastor, I became curious.  What did the Bible say about the role of the pastor? As I studied the Bible’s teaching on this topic, this set of verses is one that I found myself coming to.

These verses give several principles about how church leaders (including pastors) should be treated.  First, they should be held to a standard. The church has every right to expect the pastor to do his or her “work well.”  Poor pastoring need not be tolerated. On the other hand, however, when a pastor does his or her job well, the church experiences a two-fold responsibility to the pastor. First, the church is expected to respect the pastor.  This is more than saying nice things – it is treating the pastor with honor. Second, the church has a responsibility to care for the pastor’s financial needs. Pastoring is both time-consuming and challenging work. The church can make it as easy as possible by making sure that pastors at least aren’t financially strapped.

Here’s your freedom for today: give freely to the local church of your time, energy and finances.  Caring for pastors is just one of the responsibilities of the local church. It is a good example of the fact that when a “church” is responsible for something, that means that the people of that church are actually responsible.  The church only does what the people of the church do. There is incredible power in this truth. When the people of a local church band together, they can change their local community. When people in a local church give extravagantly of their time, money and resources, there is nothing the church can’t do.  

 

“Now a true widow, a woman who is truly alone in this world, has placed her hope in God. She prays night and day, asking God for his help. But the widow who lives only for pleasure is spiritually dead even while she lives. Give these instructions to the church so that no one will be open to criticism. But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers. A widow who is put on the list for support must be a woman who is at least sixty years old and was faithful to her husband. She must be well respected by everyone because of the good she has done. Has she brought up her children well? Has she been kind to strangers and served other believers humbly? Has she helped those who are in trouble? Has she always been ready to do good? The younger widows should not be on the list, because their physical desires will overpower their devotion to Christ and they will want to remarry. Then they would be guilty of breaking their previous pledge. And if they are on the list, they will learn to be lazy and will spend their time gossiping from house to house, meddling in other people’s business and talking about things they shouldn’t. So I advise these younger widows to marry again, have children, and take care of their own homes. Then the enemy will not be able to say anything against them. For I am afraid that some of them have already gone astray and now follow Satan. If a woman who is a believer has relatives who are widows, she must take care of them and not put the responsibility on the church. Then the church can care for the widows who are truly alone.”

“I thought the church was supposed to help people!” he shouted over his shoulder as he left the church.  I’m not even sure how he had found his way into the building. I walked into our main auditorium, and he was sitting next to one of the outlets with his phone plugged in.  When he saw me, he asked if the church could help him financially. He needed money for rent. I explained that the church didn’t have finances set aside for rental assistance, and he was offended.  Wasn’t it the church’s job to help people?

In these verses Paul addresses a similar situation.  In his society, elderly widows would have been financially at risk.  They probably didn’t own property, which was the primary medium of investment.  If they had no family and they couldn’t work, they could easily end up homeless and starving.  Paul lays down several rules for when a local church should get involved in this kind of dire situation.  First, if the woman has family, the family not the church should be doing the care-giving. Second, if the woman is young enough, then she should care for herself – she doesn’t need the church’s help.  Finally, she must have earned respect through godly living. These three simple boundaries probably would have stopped the church from getting financially involved in most situations. However, sometimes a situation would arise that met all three criterion, and then the church would be free to help the widow.  

Here’s your freedom for today: just because someone claims that a situation is dire doesn’t mean it is.  There are an endless number of people, situations and causes begging for assistance today. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t mean pouring money into whatever situation presents itself.  Paul clearly teaches here that giving financially to some situations will cause greater harm than good. Generosity requires wisdom, and we are fortunate that here Paul begins to offer some of that wisdom.  More can be found in the book of Proverbs in the Bible. If you’ve never spent time in the book of Proverbs, Freedom for Today offers this series to get you started. Wisdom is a journey; take a step today.

 

“Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brothers. Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.”

“You want me to what?” she asked incredulously.  She had been telling me about an argument she got into with another woman in the church, and her plan was simple: never talk to the other woman again.  Unfortunately, she talked to me. I encouraged her to go and repair the relationship – to offer forgiveness and love and a second chance.

Followers of Jesus do relationships differently.  Like every area of life, they are following a different set of rules.  Here Paul gives a basic outline of those rules. Notice that they aren’t based on what you think the other person deserves.  An older man might make a foolish mistake and deserve harsh correction. Nevertheless, Paul teaches us to treat older men with respect.  Why? It is, in many ways, a practical set of rules. Older men and women will respond better if we use respect. Younger men will respond better to brotherly camaraderie.  Younger women will respond better if they are treated with dignity rather than being objectified. More importantly though, this is a choice to treat people based on who they can become rather than who they currently are.

Here’s your freedom for today: every interaction with another person is a creative act of transformation.  You have the power to help people change. That doesn’t mean that you can or should go around giving advice.  Instead, you offer people an opportunity when you treat them as if they are what they in fact are not but could be. For example, you can treat an older man as if he deserves respect, even if he doesn’t.  In doing so, you give him the opportunity to take a step towards becoming the person worthy of that respect. What could give us the courage to treat people this well? Only this: we know that God has treated each of us exactly like this.  He has treated us far better than we deserve, and it has inspired each of us to become better than we’d ever thought possible. It worked for us, so let’s give it a chance to work on someone else.

“Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. 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.”

I began working for a church when I was 23-years old. Most of the people in the church were older than I was.  Several were founding members of the church while I was not. Many had been following Jesus longer than I had been alive. Nevertheless, I was placed in a position of authority.  I found myself struggling to learn how to earn the respect of those who were at times older and at times more mature than myself. I tried to make myself look older through how I dressed, how I spoke, and how I carried myself.  Eventually I discovered the vital leadership lesson that Paul teaches Timothy in these verses.

Any leader can eventually earn the trust of almost any follower of Jesus.  There is a simple formula for earning that trust – simple to understand if not to act upon.  The formula is this: maintain a consistent ministry. Simply put that means one thing: make sure that you live your life consistently with the message that you teach.  Some leaders choose to have double standards – one set of expectations for those they lead, but a different set of expectations for themselves. Eventually that kind of hypocrisy reveals itself. Authentic leaders hold themselves to the same standards they teach.  

Here’s your freedom for today: don’t worry if some people you are leading haven’t bought into your leadership yet.  You can win over almost anyone with consistency and integrity. There is no shortcut to winning over people to your leadership.  That’s ok. People should expect leaders to earn their trust rather than demanding it. If you find yourself in that position as a leader, don’t panic.  Most people are just waiting and watching. If you are faithful in following Jesus and faithful in your leadership, they will follow you eventually.