We’ll always have Paris. Vive la France!
All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered.
1 Timothy 6:1 (NIV)
It is hard, I believe, to understand with our 21st century experience what daily life was like for those who followed Jesus in the days of Paul and Timothy. I have often heard individuals criticize the fact that God’s Message does not specifically condemn slavery, and those arguments come to mind when reading today’s chapter. I have a lot of historical, cultural, and contextual thoughts about why this is the case. Nevertheless, I will admit that it’s only one of many questions I have about the things God says and the subjects on which He chooses to be silent.
What I take from today’s chapter, however, is a human challenge that is as relevant today as it has ever been. At different waypoints along life’s journey we will all find ourselves in situations we cannot escape and that will not be fair. It could be a situation at work, a family relationship, life tragedy, or a legal obligation. Sometimes in life we are powerless to change our circumstances.
Paul’s entreaty to those who follow Jesus was to manage those things that we can control in otherwise unmanageable situations. We can choose how we act, how we respond to others, what words we choose to use, how we will think, and the attitudes with which we will approach a situation.
Paul was powerless to change slavery in his day. It would be 1800 years before humanity began to address that issue in earnest and it still plagues our fallen world today. What Paul, and his friends who were slaves, could address was how they lived their lives each day within their given circumstances.
Today I am reminded that I cannot always control my circumstances, but I can control my mind, my tongue, my eyes, my ears, my feet and my hands. What I choose to do with them is what matters.
Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
1 Timothy 5:8 (NIV)
We called my maternal grandfather Grandpa Spec. Spec had been his nickname for as long as anyone could remember. Everyone called him Spec, which he preferred to his given name, Claude. Grandpa Spec had a rough life. The oldest of three siblings, his father shot himself (on his 36th birthday) and Spec was farmed out to be raised by his grandparents. That was likely his salvation. His mother drug the younger two siblings through a series of failed marriages, and they both had their own difficult paths.
When Grandpa Spec was near the end of his earthly journey, there were family members who shared stories I had never heard about my grandpa.
Times were tough during the Depression and World War II. Spec’s brother, an alcoholic, asked Spec for a job. Spec agreed to hire him, but knowing his brother had a problem with alcohol he told his brother that if his drinking interfered with his work just once he would be fired. Of course, the handwriting was on the wall. Spec fired his brother the first time his drinking caused a problem with work. The brother was angry and returned to family in Illinois where he spread all sorts of lies and rumors about how poorly Spec had treated him. Spec and his brother barely spoke again. Years later, when his brother died, Spec drove to Illinois to pay his last respects only to find that the family had told the funeral home that Spec would pay for his brother’s funeral. Despite not having much money, he did.
My grandmother’s sister then shared with me about how difficult things were for her when her husband left her. She was left to try and provide for herself and her children. Grandpa Spec and Grandma Golly, her sister, would regularly make the drive to the Quad Cities from Des Moines on weekends to help her out however they could. She was a proud woman and she said that Spec knew she would refuse a handout if they offered it. So, he never offered. He simply left a $50 bill on top of the refrigerator on each visit and then would confess to knowing nothing about it.
In today’s chapter, Paul addresses with young Timothy one of the most difficult social problems of their day. In those days, widows were often left in very difficult positions with no one to support them and no real means by which to provide for themselves. Jesus’ followers had a reputation of caring for the poor and destitute, so they would often come to the Christians seeking financial help. Paul tells Timothy that the believers in Ephesus should, by all means, help those who were truly in need. He adds, however, that family should first be responsible to take care of their own.
When I read that this morning I thought of Grandpa Spec paying for the funeral of the brother who caused him nothing but trouble, and who gave to his sister-in-law when she was in need. He was never a man of great means. Life had given him every reason to play the victim card and follow the path of bitterness, anger, and hatred. He chose, however, to follow Jesus down the path of forgiveness, kindness, and generosity.
Not bad footsteps to follow.
Speaking of Grandpa Spec and Grandma Golly, here’s a Throwback Thursday gem from January 1973 which would have made me a few months shy of seven years old. No doubt it was Christmas break and I was spending the night at Grandpa & Grandma’s house.
Gotta love those fuzzy slippers.
Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.
1 Timothy 4:15 (NIV)
There are only so many hours in a day, and there are only so many days allotted to us in our life journey. Each day we give ourselves away. We invest our time, our energy, our thoughts, and our resources towards different pursuits without giving much thought to it. To what am I giving myself?
I was struck this morning by Paul’s admonition to Timothy to “give himself wholly” to use of his spiritual gifts and his work among the Jesus followers in Ephesus. The goal, Paul told him, was his progress.
This morning I find myself thinking about the natural relationship between what I give myself to and what is being produced in my life. Where am I making progress? What is the evidence of that progress? Am I progressing in ways that are at all worthwhile?
Featured image: kevandotorg via Flickr
“Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great….”
1 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)
Both Taylor and Suzanna were home with us over the weekend so we had family movie night on Sunday evening and watched Interstellar. It was a fascinating yarn and made for some really interesting thoughts and conversation afterwards about time, space, relativity, dimensions, and humanity. On 60 Minutes, just before we watched the movie, Lesley Stahl did a piece on the supper collider scientists are using to try to scientifically explain things such as how spontaneous existence can happen.
I find it interesting that there are some things that are an elusive mystery, even to science which believes everything can be known, quantified, and explained apart from God. A few lines I pulled from the script of the 60 Minutes piece:
I find it strangely comforting that, when it comes to answering the great questions of life, people of science have mysteries that can’t be easily explained or quantified the same as people of faith.
Today, in the stillness of the autumn morning, I am asking big questions about faith, science, God, creation, time, and space. My mind ruminates and wanders through what both science purports and God’s message purports, and both roads lead to mysterious places. Some mornings I end my quiet time with more questions than answers. The further I get in life’s road, the more I am learning to enjoy the mystery.
Speaking of mysteries, I have always been a sucker for good mysteries. For Top Five Tuesday, here are my favorite mystery
Did I miss your favorite? Share who and why in a comment to this post! I’d love to hear.
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NIV)
When you live in Iowa, you get a larger dose of American presidential politics than most. Iowa is the first state in the parties selection process for presidential nominees. Therefore, Iowans tend to have a more generous dose of candidates, surveys, and political ads before everyone else. I kind of like it, in the general sense. About 95 percent of the time the major media outlets ignore us here in flyover country. If there’s not a tragedy, natural disaster, or the need for a heart warming Americana story, then they prefer to keep their cameras and microphones grounded on the coast. It’s nice to have the opportunity for our thoughts and opinions to matter for a few months.
At the same time, I will admit that the whole presidential circus gets a bit silly at times. I was once avidly involved in the political process, but confess that I have become jaded and cynical the further I’ve progressed in life’s journey. I vote regularly and do my civic duty, but I am increasingly appalled at how elected leaders look out for themselves and leverage our collective future to solidify their personal standing in the present. I’m talking both sides of the aisle here.
As I read Paul’s admonishment to pray for “all those in authority” this morning, I was struck by just how cynical I’ve become. It’s almost to the point of being a fatalist. If I’m truly honest, I have to admit that I find myself thinking, “What will be will be and my prayers, petitions, and intercessions won’t make a bit of a difference.”
Then, I think of Paul and Timothy out there under Roman occupation and sandwiched between persecution from both Jewish authorities and Roman authorities. Theirs was not a representative republic. They didn’t have a vote. The media of the day was not surveying everyone in Ephesus to find out what they thought, and Caesar was not pandering to the backwater Hellenists. Their political impotence was far greater than mine, and still Paul urged vigilant prayers for all in authority.
Today, I’m a bit humbled to admit how hard my heart has become towards those in governmental authority. I am revising my prayer list. If you’ll excuse me, I have a few petitions to bring before the highest authority of all.
It has been a gorgeous autumn here in the heartland. I heard it reported yesterday that it’s been the warmest November on record through the first week, and I can believe it. Nevertheless, we can feel the premonition of winter in the north wind. This week we’ve been getting ready for it.
I spent some time early in the week putting decking in our garage attic and yesterday began taking long term storage there. I mowed our lawn for the first time yesterday. It’s looking pretty good. See the picture below. It didn’t really need it except in a few spots, but I ran the mower out of gas for the winter, which needed to be done. Wendy started getting Christmas decorations out. It will be our first Christmas in the new house and she’s excited to make our home merry and bright.
We also got a couple of matching area rugs that arrived on Saturday. One for the living room and the other for the back hallway. They look great. We’re prepping for an Open House and Stock the Bar party scheduled for Friday evening, November 20th from 5:00 p.m. to whenever. We’re inviting people to stop by and see the house. We’ll have light appetizers and those who wish to do so can bring a bottle to share and help us stock the bar. There will be more details on Facebook later today.
On Friday afternoon Wendy and I paid a visit to the Frelighs in our old house on Columbus. They have done a ton of work to our cute little brick house, and it looks fabulous. When they first toured the house Wendy had a Costco death by chocolate cake out for some event and Peggy commented that if they bought the house the cake was part of the deal. So, Wendy and I took one over for afternoon coffee time.
Suzanna came home from Cedar Falls and we went to see The Aadams Family musical in Knoxville. A few of our USP friends were in the K-Act production and it was fun to see the show. Last night Taylor, Suzanna, Wendy and I sat down to a wonderful family dinner. Wendy made her Italian chicken and pasta, we opened a wonderful Italian red, and stoked the dining room fireplace. It was nice to sit and chat. The “if” question of the evening was “if you had to choose a famous couple to raise your children, who would you choose?” The answers included Chip and Joanna Gaines, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
1 Timothy 1:5 (NIV)
I got an earful. The tirade was marked by anger and came from a place of disappointment and hurt. The object of the vehemence was unknowing and undeserving. The accusations were all about an “i” not dotted, a “t” not crossed which had been blown into outrageous proportions. The goal of the rant was, from what I discerned, to project the injured’s own hurt somewhere else.
Along life’s journey I’ve been involved with many different groups of Jesus followers. Among every group I’ve encountered those Paul describes to his young protegé Timothy. There are always those who major on the minors; Those who immerse themselves in things that don’t lead to the goal, which Paul reminds young Timothy, is love.
As I read Paul’s charge to Timothy this morning, I thought about the person who gave me an earful. If the goal had truly been love, how would they have handled themselves differently? They might have started by going directly to the person they were complaining about rather than others. They might have asked this person questions and sought to understand rather than demanding to be understood. They might have considered Jesus’ command to love and forgive others a greater priority than advancing their own rights and needs.
Even as I write these words I am looking back at a few past tirades of my own. I recognize myself in the person who gave me an earful. I have lounged in those loafers. I, too, have spewed righteous anger out of personal pain. Lord, have mercy on us both.
Today, I’m reminded of how simple and powerful love is, as Jesus exemplified it. Love is a goal to strive for. Love is also a litmus test for my own words and actions; A standard against which I can discern whether I am moving in the right direction. If my goal is truly love then it constantly forces me to choose words and actions that lead, not to places of personal right, justice, or satisfaction, but to places focused on others and marked by forgiveness, selflessness, and peace.
