If I were Timothy #15: watch what you say

INTRODUCTION

Last month, we journeyed through the book of 1 Timothy, a letter written by Paul directly to his protégé Timothy.

Just a reminder of who Timothy was –

Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek.  Acts 16:1

After Paul had visited Lystra, Timothy became his companion and co-worker along with Silas. Timothy then travelled around with Paul, who became his mentor. Paul trusted him to carry out important work.

During the month, I imagined how I would have reacted to this letter from Paul if I were Timothy. You can read the whole of that response here. I’d have been blown away – and now here I am, receiving another letter from Paul addressed directly to me! This letter is traditionally considered to be the last one Paul wrote before his death.

So let’s unpack it together, imagining each day who Timothy would respond.

PASSAGE

Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarrelling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone. 2 Timothy 2:14 – 3:9

RESPONSE

Paul, have you heard the phrase ‘be immaculate with your words’? I heard it recently and I’m reminded of it as I read what you’ve written to me hear. For each word that we speak and write is important – each and every word. Each word needs to be weighed before it is spoken. I get to hear about many of the arguments that take place among the believers and you’d be amazed to discover what they find to argue about. Actually, you probably wouldn’t – you’ve had to deal with your fair share of disputes too! People leave the community for the smallest of reasons. They choose to take offence – yes, they choose, because they could first choose to seek reconciliation. The time spent arguing over words when they could actually be getting on with sharing God’s love with others…it frustrates me so much!

I’ve seen how godless chatter destabilises and undermines our community of believers. Issues are blow out of all proportion. The seeds of doubt are sown. We profess to be a people of love, but there is very little love in the way we speak to and of other people at times. It’s easy to get drawn in and hard to stay pure, immaculate with my words. But that’s what I want – to have a clear conscience so that God can use me whenever He sees fit.

Be kind to everyone: that’s a great place to start, so simple and yet so effective. And yes, so hard!

And then there are the people who profess godliness but their lifestyle says otherwise. We need to look at how people treat others to know if their professed love and loyalty to God has any foundation. No one can be deemed to be spiritual because of their knowledge of the Scriptures if they mistreat others in any way. I’ve had to distance myself from those kind of people – their words are seductive but they have no idea how to love others. You get to learn how to see through this superficial spirituality, however impressive it seems at first.

So yes, let’s all continue to strive to be immaculate with our words!