Skip to main content

Hasty

     
     Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. (I Timothy 5:22-25)
          Paul seems to like miscellany. He often adds a few quick instructions, and today’s passage is a good example. The first is to not be hasty in giving others authority. I think it just as wise to not be hasty in taking on authority. This is part of my problem with some folks, They insist that the response to everything is for someone (often not them) to do something. Do something, even if the something you do is wrong. Do lots of things, in hopes that one of the will have a positive effect no matter how badly the rest of them turn out.
          Haste not only makes waste, but it doesn’t provide an opportunity for wisdom to speak.
          Paul’s next warning is to not share in the sins of others. When some people hear this, they’re likely to point at Mr. Trump and say, “Hm?” Equally, one could point at Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, and Mr. and Mrs. Clinton with the same question. But Mr. Trump, Mrs. Warren, Mr. Biden, and Mr. and Mrs. Clinton don’t ask us to share in their personal sins, or to approve of or celebrate them. When it comes to public policy, technically all politicians ask us to share in their sins. The question is which political philosophy’s sins are greater.
          There’s another way that we tend to share in the sins of others. Every now and then, some new person shows up at church, or shows up as a pastor of a church, and wows the congregation. Think of those who lead mega-churches. Think of those who come with “new ideas” and who start movements, particularly those who then start talking about how bad the Church is.
          Granted, the Church is far from perfect, but what Paul says in today’s passage is that we shouldn’t be hasty in joining them, or in following every whim or trend of religious fashion. We need to make sure that they aren’t leading us and others astray. There are two common directions these follow. The first is legalism and the second is license, and both lead to sin.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more