Worldly fables and old women.

-



Scripture

But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;
(1 Timothy 4:7 NASB)
for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
(1 Timothy 4:8 NASB)
It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance.
(1 Timothy 4:9 NASB)
For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
(1 Timothy 4:10 NASB)

 

Observation


Coming near the close of this Pastoral Epistle we find a contrast in what it means to be living the godly life. The godly life is one which involves spiritual discipline. Should we sit around and gossip with the old women? No, we are to show self-discipline and be prepared for godliness. Is this a bodily discipline? No, because that is not eternal, rather we are to be disciplined in our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is the relationship that is eternal! Only the eternal should be worth our focus and attention.

 

Application


It can become incredibly easy to become caught up in the small talk of the world. Why would the author of this letter specifically point out older women and fables? Just go to any church gathering and there are more senior women around than there are men! That's just a normal reality of life, women tend to live longer than men. So what happens when a group of retired women get together? What are they doing with their lives? Most of them sit around and talk and tell stories of what's going on -- or share thoughts on how the younger generation could be handling things, etc.

There are times when people, no matter what age or gender, act this way in regard to their spiritual lives. We want to hang out together and gripe about things without any intent of improving anything. We just like to hear ourselves gripe! How in the world do we avoid this? By finding something useful to do with ourselves and with our time, and doing something useful doesn't necessarily refer to simply being busy, but it relates to the spiritual realm. We need to be willing to be self-disciplined enough, throughout all of life, to make our relationship with Jesus Christ the most important factor in our lives. We will never be too old to spend time with our Lord! We should never be too busy to spend time with him! We should never have more important things to do than to be with him! (Because there is NOTHING more important -- even doing good things!) It is good if this discipline can begin early in our lives so that when we do become older, we are not drawn away by the temptation to gather with the older women and share fables. Instead, we will be so enticed by the intimacy of our relationship with Jesus Christ that we will desire him more than anything in this world. The result is that we may not hang out with the crowd, but instead, will be about Christ's business here on earth until the very day that we go home to be with him in heaven.

Avoid those worldly fables and old women!!! That discipline begins even today.

 

Prayer


Lord, please help me to enjoy the intimacy of fellowship with you on a daily basis. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a time when we try to carry
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have
Read more