Monday Reading: 1 Timothy 1:5-11
Key Verse: 1 Timothy 1:5
5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
Devotion:
Timothy was given a task and that task was to make sure that the truth was being taught. That is not just a simple “make sure that you tell the truth” but far more than that. He was given a command to make sure that the truth was told because it is something that comes from the heart – that means wanting to ensure that the truth is told, not just because someone else said so but because you want it to happen from your very being. That is actually a big thing when you think about it; wanting the truth above and beyond a normal requirement because you know in your heart that that is what is required but also knowing that you need to make sure that others get to know that same truth that you do.
When Christ told us that we need to love our neighbours He wanted us to treat those people around us as if we love them like our family and friends. Part of that must therefore be wanting them to know the truth as we know it – how can you love someone and then hold the truth back from them? And then we come to the definition of telling the truth.
If we take it as we look at the rest of the world then we see telling the truth as ‘not telling a lie’. But that is just not the same! Not even in the same ballpark! Telling the truth means no withholding the truth. In other words hiding the truth in any way is just the same as telling lies! When God gives us the truth through His Word we are told of all the things that we do wrong as well as all the things that we should be doing right. No matter how much we like to see the good things and the happy things, there is always the rough side of life as well. Words aren’t minced here when we are reminded of all the rough edges in the latter verses and it’s words like that that bring it home to us that we are not to hide the truth from people.
I had always been one for not shaking trees and not causing any strife, but if we go throughout our lives without causing a ripple, then we may as well be the ones saying yes to those same rough things in life that are described here! God wants us to be fully aware of the bad things in life as well as making sure that we remind others of those same things. If we ignore those truths then we are just falling deeper in sin; and if we don’t remind others of those things then we are inviting them into a sinful world ourselves!
Points to Ponder:
Do you tell others of the bad things in life?
Has God hidden anything from you?
