Practical Directions

“Now you, man of God, run from these things; but pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the faith; take hold of eternal life, to which you were called and have made a good confession before many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:11-12 CSB)

Paul wrote a couple of pastoral letters to his “son in the faith” Timothy to encourage him and help him be more effective in his ministry. Toward the end of the first letter, he gave Timothy a lot of good practical advice. In these particular verses the advice was particularly good.

The first direction he gave was to run away from temptation. What’s the best way to handle temptation? Run. Don’t hang around. Run away as fast as you can. Keep clear of it in the first place if you can.

The second direction is to pursue what is right. Evaluate your lifestyle and choose intentionally to pursue the kind of life that is filled with values that are right, values like godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. These are really good, and they help someone live a life of positive influence.

The third direction is to fight the good fight for the faith. This is not an encouragement to be aggressive and go out looking for a fight. It just means to be a person who defends the Christian faith, who takes a stand with Christ and for Christ, and will not back down when non-believers become critical of the faith.

The fourth direction is to keep things in the perspective of the eternal. Eternity should be the backdrop for everything we do.

The fifth direction is to keep your word. Whatever word you give in public is a word you need to keep in public and in private. Keeping your word is a testimony to integrity, and integrity is as important to the function of this world as air is to the human body.

Maybe in Paul’s practical directions to Timothy, each of us may also find an encouragement for our lives today.

Lord, Help us to live through this day in ways that will bring honor to You. Amen.