Read with Me
1 Timothy 4:6-8 (HCSB)
If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of the faith and the good teaching that you have followed. But have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness, for
the training of the body has a limited benefit,
but godliness is beneficial in every way,
since it holds promise for the present life
and also for the life to come.
Listen with Me
Even in Paul’s day, there was pressure on the Church to be “relevant” to the felt needs and priorities of society. But Paul never buckled to that kind of pressure which would move the focus of the Church and its people away from its two-fold purpose: to live godly lives in the world, and to keep the gospel continually in front of everyone.
To this end, Paul continues to urge Timothy away from the false theologies of the day, and to focus instead on the true gospel, including its call to live holy lives. And this was not the false holiness of self-denial and the slavery of self-salvation through obedience to the law. Instead, Paul continues to urge that the people of the Church commit themselves fully to Jesus, and to let Him come work His righteousness through each of them.
Paul also cautioned Timothy about embracing the call to put the human body and its needs first. The Greek culture practically worshiped the human body, hence its rejection of circumcision, which they saw as marrying its natural perfection, and their embrace of athletics and physical training.
Paul did not deny that there was value in keeping fit and thus able to do God’s will longer. But he also realized that the human body, no matter how fit and healthy, is ultimately doomed to death and decay, a fate which may be delayed, but cannot be avoided.
At the same time, he knew that the soul of each person would live forever, either in heaven or in hell. So, what each person did to stay healthy spiritually was far more important than their physical health. Thus, spiritual training should always take priority over physical training.
Pray with Me
Father, You know how great the pressure is today to shift the emphasis away from Your kingdom and our ultimate spiritual destiny towards social justice and what is often termed “compassionate ministry”. The problem is not with caring for people, something we are obviously called to do. The problem comes when we are persuaded to provide help and care for the body but neglect our duty to ensure that the soul is cared for as well. Sometimes, we make ourselves subject to such restrictions by accepting grants for resources that come with such “strings”. Sometimes, we ally ourselves with secular groups that are uncomfortable with injecting faith into ministry. And sometimes, we allow ourselves to be uncomfortable with “pushing religion” on someone in need. But if we don’t help those we help physically or materially to genuinely see their larger spiritual need, we are literally succeeding only in making their journey to hell more comfortable. Help us all, Lord, to keep the main thing the main thing, to put salvation of souls at the top of our priorities no matter what else we might do for people. Amen.