‘Fight the Good fight of the Faith’. 1 Timothy 6:12
In recent days, this word has been ringing in my spirit and I just want to take a deeper look.
What did Paul mean when he wrote this evergreen admonition to his son in the Lord, Timothy?
(It is interesting to know that here is a type of fight that is good. It’s not ok to be timid or passive about this one folks.)
The preceding verse 11 sheds some light into why this is a fight:
11But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
So two tasks are laid out in this instruction:
- Flee from these things
- Pursue certain things namely: Righteousness, Godliness, Faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
Okay so considering the first task.
What are we fleeing from? It seems it’s going to be a real challenge to do: he did not just say walk away, or wish away or avoid whatever it is, he says ‘flee’. If you are not determined or fast enough you might not be able to escape this thing.
No wonder it is a fight. One is chasing you while the other is ahead of you. The moment you stop running after the one you are pursuing, you are at the risk of being caught by the one chasing you. Whoa! You are in-between two forces until you take a hold on the eternal life –the essence of what you have been called into. Anytime you let go of eternal life, you are at the risk of getting caught by what you are fleeing from.
Pretty interesting… I wonder what it is we are fleeing from.
Again let’s see the preceding verse to get the answer:
Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.10For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.…
Oh I see! It is the Love of money.
That is what we are meant to flee from.
The word explains that the love of money is the root of all evil, and that by craving money, some have wandered away from the faith and have a long list of sorrows and regrets to look back at.
Admittedly, it is so tempting to crave money, who naturally does not want lots of it? After all the bible says ‘money answers all things’. Eccl.10:19 which means money can buy you stuff and having lots of it means you are able to acquire lots of stuff. Many believers are quick to quote this scripture to justify their keen interest at making or acquiring more money.
Jesus however says the quality of a man’s life does not depend on the abundance of the ‘stuff’ you are able to acquire.
Luke 12:15
And He said to them, Guard yourselves and keep free from all covetousness (the immoderate desire for wealth, the greedy longing to have more); for a man’s life does not consist in and is not derived from possessing overflowing abundance or that which is over and above his needs.
It seems Paul is just re-echoing Jesus’ words in Luke which also cautioned against greed.
Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”
In the court of God’s judgement, the value or worth of your life is not going to be based on how much stuff you were able to acquire.
Is it not really true that it is the clamor for more money that leads to all kinds of corruption and atrocities? Almost all evil can be traced to the desire to have more money, which seemingly confers more power and influence.
All the temptation to dabble into corruption, greed and forgery is an appeal to have more money.
The temptation to gamble away the little you have with the hope of hitting the jackpot is an example of a lure due to greed. The media is busy helping to bombard your mind with the allures of gambling and hitting the jackpot. It is a scheme to lure you away. I realize this is a touchy issue and a lot of argument is going on around whether playing the lottery is good or not, since this is even government supported. My counsel is that you be sober and vigilant, the devil is going about like a roaring lion looking for whom to devour.
Jesus says money is a god, an idol called Mammon.
13Noservant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
The King James Version renders it this way:
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
So money is like a god many have chosen to serve whether they realize it or not.
So that is what we need to flee from, the love of money.
So having fled from the love of money, Paul advised Timothy to pursue after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
Pursuing after righteousness is a deliberate action. The emphasis is on the verb ‘pursue’ which means to follow in order to catch ….
Paul counsels Timothy to give up chasing after money and instead follow the path of righteousness, godliness, love, perseverance and gentleness. Each of these Godly characters require an in-depth study to deeply understand and imbibe them. One thing I know is that you will never be able to catch them if you are preoccupied with the love of money.
I pray the Lord will help us understand that as God’s children and members of His kingdom, God is responsible to meet our needs and He’s more than able to provide for us when we put our whole trust in Him.
Matt 6:31-33
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? Or, what shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 For after all these things do the Gentiles seek for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
If it was a fight in the days of Paul, how much more in this day and age. It is indeed a fight to maintain our focus and stay on the course God had set for us in the midst of a barrage of distractions. However the battle presents itself, we can rest on the truth that His grace is more than sufficient to carry us through.
Shalom
Olaolu Oyeyemi