1 Timothy 5:24-25 – Seeing in Part
From I Timothy 5 – 24 Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. 25 Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.
One of my recent conquests has been Walter Lippmann's seminal Public Opinion on the interplay between media and individual judgment. As we learn to be justifiably suspicious of our impulses, Lippmann finds a small victory in that, "There is a noble counterfeit in that charity which comes from self-knowledge."
There is much of this circumspection rooted in knowledge of one's limitations in Paul's closing counsel to Timothy at the end of 1 Timothy 1. There is great spiritual health and perspective here. Paul began the letter affirming the centrality of Christ's ministry through His own in the narrative of the universe, began the letter affirming the importance of who Timothy was in Christ, and the crucial nature of the battle he faced in the church at Ephesus. Now, having established that beachhead of purpose beyond doubt, he paints in more subtle colors of humble ambiguity.
There is a God. He put us where we are. But we are not Him. The perpetual moral self-inspection to which Paul calls Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:21 and 22 makes this clear. Even the interjection as to the frailty of Timothy's health in verse 23 as he is charged to take wine for his stomach shows us how limited the humans, even the human charged with important spiritual work, is. This parting perspective continues in the final two verses.
The apostle Paul and Walter Lippmann both understand that as we keep examining ourselves, we begin to understand what we don't see. We begin to grasp how finite and distractible is our perspective, how limited our time to see God's purposes play out fully. This spiritual speedbump to close out the epistle, perhaps, is meant to keep Timothy and his latter-day heirs from charging too hard into the day's events, from investing them with too much importance. However we see God's purposes in our lives, we will eradicate all evil, or even outline it. However we see God's glory, we will not come up with an exhaustive exposition of it in our sphere.
Enough, then, is to go about the day's business with His Word as a light unto our path – generally one step at a time. Where we get a glimpse of His goodness in our fellow humans, let us rejoice that there is much more to be revealed. One day we will know Him, and them, as we are known. Where we twist an ankle in the pothole or pitfall of someone else's depravity, let us be soberly warned that the same thirst for self-satisfaction still lurks in us, and repent. What we see, even by the Spirit, we see on the surface. We trust Him to reveal how we need to proceed in light of the more full revelation to come.
One of my recent conquests has been Walter Lippmann's seminal Public Opinion on the interplay between media and individual judgment. As we learn to be justifiably suspicious of our impulses, Lippmann finds a small victory in that, "There is a noble counterfeit in that charity which comes from self-knowledge."
There is much of this circumspection rooted in knowledge of one's limitations in Paul's closing counsel to Timothy at the end of 1 Timothy 1. There is great spiritual health and perspective here. Paul began the letter affirming the centrality of Christ's ministry through His own in the narrative of the universe, began the letter affirming the importance of who Timothy was in Christ, and the crucial nature of the battle he faced in the church at Ephesus. Now, having established that beachhead of purpose beyond doubt, he paints in more subtle colors of humble ambiguity.
There is a God. He put us where we are. But we are not Him. The perpetual moral self-inspection to which Paul calls Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:21 and 22 makes this clear. Even the interjection as to the frailty of Timothy's health in verse 23 as he is charged to take wine for his stomach shows us how limited the humans, even the human charged with important spiritual work, is. This parting perspective continues in the final two verses.
The apostle Paul and Walter Lippmann both understand that as we keep examining ourselves, we begin to understand what we don't see. We begin to grasp how finite and distractible is our perspective, how limited our time to see God's purposes play out fully. This spiritual speedbump to close out the epistle, perhaps, is meant to keep Timothy and his latter-day heirs from charging too hard into the day's events, from investing them with too much importance. However we see God's purposes in our lives, we will eradicate all evil, or even outline it. However we see God's glory, we will not come up with an exhaustive exposition of it in our sphere.
Enough, then, is to go about the day's business with His Word as a light unto our path – generally one step at a time. Where we get a glimpse of His goodness in our fellow humans, let us rejoice that there is much more to be revealed. One day we will know Him, and them, as we are known. Where we twist an ankle in the pothole or pitfall of someone else's depravity, let us be soberly warned that the same thirst for self-satisfaction still lurks in us, and repent. What we see, even by the Spirit, we see on the surface. We trust Him to reveal how we need to proceed in light of the more full revelation to come.
Comments
Post a Comment