1 Timothy 6:11 – From the Gauntlet to Gentleness
But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. One Timothy 6:11, New King James Version
Will and Ariel Durant are great admirers of Napoleon in their concluding volume to The Story of Civilization dedicated to the age they name after him. They describe him in relationships, "He was seldom brutal, often kind, playful, good-humored." They concede, though, "is sense of humor had been weakened by hardship and battle; he had little time for the pleasantries of leisure, the gossip of the court, or the wit of the salons. He was a man in a hurry, with a pack of enemies around him, and an empire on his hands; and it is difficult for a man in a hurry to be civilized."
That reality, the hardening of battle, the natural defensiveness that can result from an awareness of one's vulnerabilities, that is what makes Paul's conclusion to 1 Timothy 6:11 so remarkable. In this section of Scripture, he has opened Timothy's eyes to a pack of enemies at least as dangerous as anything Napoleon would face. Paul describes a reality of spiritual battle that would hardening any man who endeavored to fight it in his own strength or who emerged from its various skirmishes telling himself that that strength had been diminished in the process. Yet, Paul's end product, if we can indulge in the possibility that the spiritual attributes described in 1 Timothy 6:11 are in succession, is not that the spiritual leader is jaded, or weary, or wary. He is, contrary to all natural phenomenon in this world, gentle.
Paul points to this phenomenon elsewhere, coaching in the opening of Romans 15 not only the desired result of gentleness but a disciplined gaze upon this aspect of Christ's righteousness in us. "We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” Charles Spurgeon in his sermon, "Mercy, Omnipotence, and Justice," traces this attribute of the Trinity farther back than Christ's earthly ministry, rejoicing, "The Lord is slow to anger; and he is slow to anger because he is great in power. 'How say you so?' —says one. I answer, he that is great in power has power over himself; and he that can keep his own temper down, and subdue himself, is greater than he who rules a city, or can conquer nations."
We conquer, then, not by the barest strength of our own will. We experience victories over materialism or spiritual pride because of Christ's righteousness in us. Like the bush Moses encountered, it blazes but is never consumed. The enemy would have us in our after action report tell ourselves that we barely escaped, that we are thereby less able to withstand the next temptation, or the next vexation from a less mature brother or sister in Christ. May the Lord rewrite His narrative on our hearts, which connects from glory to glory until He conforms us to the likeness of Himself.
We didn't just survive to limp from battle to battle. We thrive in Him, our Captain Who has already assured the ultimate victory. May we emerge from battles small and great, battles for righteousness, godliness, faith, and love, and patience, with songs of gratitude to the One Who is greater than any obstacle to these virtues He is working in us. In our songs of gratitude, may we attract the young or young in the faith He would put in step with us.
As they falter, wilt, or simply failed to pick up on the subtle cues of the Christian culture marshaled against the enemy, might we exhibit gentleness toward them, as Christ was and is gentle toward us. As we have found with Tim Keller in God's Wisdom for Navigating Life that honoring God's design leads to liberation, might we demonstrate our freedom in Christ by choosing the gentlest option with which we can relate to one another.
Will and Ariel Durant are great admirers of Napoleon in their concluding volume to The Story of Civilization dedicated to the age they name after him. They describe him in relationships, "He was seldom brutal, often kind, playful, good-humored." They concede, though, "is sense of humor had been weakened by hardship and battle; he had little time for the pleasantries of leisure, the gossip of the court, or the wit of the salons. He was a man in a hurry, with a pack of enemies around him, and an empire on his hands; and it is difficult for a man in a hurry to be civilized."
That reality, the hardening of battle, the natural defensiveness that can result from an awareness of one's vulnerabilities, that is what makes Paul's conclusion to 1 Timothy 6:11 so remarkable. In this section of Scripture, he has opened Timothy's eyes to a pack of enemies at least as dangerous as anything Napoleon would face. Paul describes a reality of spiritual battle that would hardening any man who endeavored to fight it in his own strength or who emerged from its various skirmishes telling himself that that strength had been diminished in the process. Yet, Paul's end product, if we can indulge in the possibility that the spiritual attributes described in 1 Timothy 6:11 are in succession, is not that the spiritual leader is jaded, or weary, or wary. He is, contrary to all natural phenomenon in this world, gentle.
Paul points to this phenomenon elsewhere, coaching in the opening of Romans 15 not only the desired result of gentleness but a disciplined gaze upon this aspect of Christ's righteousness in us. "We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” Charles Spurgeon in his sermon, "Mercy, Omnipotence, and Justice," traces this attribute of the Trinity farther back than Christ's earthly ministry, rejoicing, "The Lord is slow to anger; and he is slow to anger because he is great in power. 'How say you so?' —says one. I answer, he that is great in power has power over himself; and he that can keep his own temper down, and subdue himself, is greater than he who rules a city, or can conquer nations."
We conquer, then, not by the barest strength of our own will. We experience victories over materialism or spiritual pride because of Christ's righteousness in us. Like the bush Moses encountered, it blazes but is never consumed. The enemy would have us in our after action report tell ourselves that we barely escaped, that we are thereby less able to withstand the next temptation, or the next vexation from a less mature brother or sister in Christ. May the Lord rewrite His narrative on our hearts, which connects from glory to glory until He conforms us to the likeness of Himself.
We didn't just survive to limp from battle to battle. We thrive in Him, our Captain Who has already assured the ultimate victory. May we emerge from battles small and great, battles for righteousness, godliness, faith, and love, and patience, with songs of gratitude to the One Who is greater than any obstacle to these virtues He is working in us. In our songs of gratitude, may we attract the young or young in the faith He would put in step with us.
As they falter, wilt, or simply failed to pick up on the subtle cues of the Christian culture marshaled against the enemy, might we exhibit gentleness toward them, as Christ was and is gentle toward us. As we have found with Tim Keller in God's Wisdom for Navigating Life that honoring God's design leads to liberation, might we demonstrate our freedom in Christ by choosing the gentlest option with which we can relate to one another.
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