Thursday, October 10, 2013

Thoughts on I Timothy 1: Keep the main thing the main thing

As a teacher, it is very easy to get distracted.  Students (at least at the college level) also love to distract you.  They often want to get into heated discussions about something they find interesting rather than focusing on the content that they are supposed to learn.  There seems to be something about human nature that drags us away from focusing on what is good for us so that we can ponder irrelevant things.

Paul warns Timothy in the beginning of this letter to be careful of such things, and to watch out for those who are trying to distract from the central themes of the gospel.  I don't know the specifics of these distractions, but I imagine it is similar to those today who focus so much on an obscure piece of theology and end up ignoring the larger picture.

How does one not get distracted?  By keeping the main thing the main thing.  I am a sinner.  God saved me.  Now He wants a good relationship with me.  God wants the same for you. 

Discussing other things can be valuable when done in certain ways and in certain contexts, but only when done in proper perspective.  Our relationship with God should always be the focus and the purpose for all of our discussions.

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