Paul is writing to Timothy, a man of mixed Jewish and Gentile parentage whom he had converted and who had accompanied him on his 2nd and 3rd missionary journeys. At this time, Timothy is the presbyter, or administrator of the entire Ephesian community. Paul is giving him instructions as to how to conduct himself in this letter. In this particular passage, Paul is giving him advice on how to preserve the purity of the church’s doctrine against false teaching. He is encouraging Timothy to remain steadfast in the face of the pressures from factions within and without the community. Paul’s remarks are as pertinent today as they were then. We are challenged to open our ears and our hearts to hear these very powerful admonitions within the context of our own moment in time.
Paul says to Timothy, “Teach and urge these things. Whoever teaches something different and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious teaching is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes’ (1 Tim. 6:3-4). Timothy is being counseled to be able to recognize the false teachings that are all about him (us). Paul doesn’t just leave Timothy with this vague statement, but gives him sure signs as to what to look for in those who teach falsely. Paul warns him to beware of those who conduct themselves with inordinate pride or conceit, envy, those who tend rivalry, those who are always argumentative, and who commonly use insults to degrade their opponents, and those who are moved by a greed for material gain. They do not yet see that the greatest contentment possible for us as human beings is gained in the knowledge and the practice of the faith of Jesus Christ.
Timothy is told that the true follower of Jesus Christ knows that we came into the world with nothing and we will take nothing away from it. Those who know Jesus and his word are content with what they have. He is reminded by Paul that those who want to be rich are “falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction.” And Paul then adds the famous injunction, “For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains” (vs. 9-10).
Are not these temptations as evident today as they were in the Apostolic times? Do we not see these vices all around us, in our own lives and in society at large? Are they not the “root of all evils” and the cause of most of the suffering we experience in our own day? Is it not also clear that far too many of us refuse to see this, becoming willfully blind to it in ourselves and in our leaders? We are the cause of our own suffering when we turn away from the teaching of Jesus Christ and replace them with our own ideas, our own passions.
Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not easy. In fact, it is often quite dangerous in a world governed by pride, conceit, envy, rivalry, division, and the love of money, where those tendencies are ‘baptized’ as heroic, rational, practical, pragmatic, or even patriotic. But as Christians, we are called to a different kind of heroism and fidelity. Paul writes to Timothy: “But you, man of God, avoid all this. Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of witnesses” (vs. 11-12). If we want to be known as Christians we too must be, like Timothy, a “person of God,” that is, one practicing the faith that has been handed down to us through the Apostles. This is the flower and the fruit of our “noble confession,” that is, our baptism, made before witnesses.
As followers of Jesus, we are called upon to live this faith openly and joyfully, courageously devoting ourselves to the love of God and of neighbor, with great patience, generosity, gentleness, and compassion. We have known since the beginning that in doing so, we might have to endure the insults and anger thrown at us by those who have not yet seen the way, the truth, and the light of Jesus Christ. But it is through our willing and joyful cooperation with the will of God that avenues open up for God’s grace to bring light into the darkness of the world. The world, which is so often animated by division and mutual hatred, is starving to see Christians truly practicing the love of God in the midst of the madness. It is in this way, and with God’s grace, that we can bring others to see and to desire to know the joy of this relationship with the One who is love, through and through.
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