Key Verses: 5, 7, 12, 15, 16-17
As we
read the news these days, I see a lot of people who look like these first few
verses. There are so many plastic people, people with only a veneer of
respectability. But what is worse are the people who don’t even pretend to
cover up their emptiness. They just live it out for the whole world to see.
Paris Hilton comes to mind. What a wasted life, so far. People like her love
themselves, money, and pleasure. Can anything of real and lasting value come
from this kind of approach to life? What is the lasting legacy of Larry Flynt
of Hustler magazine? What would happen if we all lived selfishly and used each
other as objects?
Paul
tells Timothy to avoid such people, to have nothing to do with them. But aren’t
Christians supposed to be loving and accepting? Love the sinner, but hate the
sin? “Tolerant?!?” There comes a point when associating with a flagrant
hypocrite becomes counterproductive. Instead of influencing them, their
reputation rubs off on us and our witness gets compromised. When the Gospel
message is being stained by the sin, then the only alternative is to push the
sin and the sinner away.
Some
people just don’t want to know the Truth! We see the results of this kind of
people. Rather than providing protection, they take advantage of the weakest of
society. They sometimes put on the appearance of helping, but their true motive
comes out in the end.
Paul contrasts
himself with these kinds of people. He persevered through persecution without
compromise. That is the mark of someone holding to the Truth, but not the only
mark. Some people will stubbornly hold to their belief in the face of
overwhelming contradictory evidence. Paul holds to his belief solidly through
life-threatening persecution. He urges Timothy to do the same.
Timothy
was raised in a home where Christ was lived out. Scripture was taught and
lived. His mother and grandmother were both faithful to the Gospel, and he
learned it from the cradle on. The Scriptures came from God, empowered by the
Spirit and accomplish their purpose. And that purpose is that we would be
thoroughly equipped. God wants to provide everything we need to live the kind of
life that we were designed to live, lives of fulfillment and connection.
But in
order to get the kind of life God intends us to have we must understand and
follow the Scriptures. The Scriptures will equip us, empowered by the Spirit.
What is stopping you from fully embracing them?