1 Timothy 6:18 – Loosing the "Let"

17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good…

"Because our words must be life-giving," explains Tim Keller in God's Wisdom for Navigating Life, "we must never use truth as a weapon."

This warning points to the beauty of 1 Timothy 6:18 in context. In a sense, Paul has weaponized the otherwise timid Timothy. The word command in verse 17 is an unmistakably strong one. He is going to be used to take down strongholds of corrupted thinking. But, if we don't close the letter in offense and conviction, and we keep reading, we see the life-giving impact on the other side of tough words of confrontation.

The verb that opens verse 18 is let, a verb of beautiful freedom which so contrasts with the entanglement of the chase for money and approval. Would we look at confrontation differently, first confrontation with ourselves, if we saw the "let" on the other side? If we saw discipline as a means to freedom, would we be willing to hear commands in the spirit in which God uses them? Her directly from His Word, from His Spirit, and from authorities and confidantes He places in our lives, and he did because He sent them, they can be a means to freedom.

They can be, by God's grace, the key which looses the "let". Such confrontations and commands can get us closer to our true purpose by having us re-examine our assumptions, motivations, and habits. The checks we are put through can reopen our eyes to the good available for us to do, and they can embolden us to speak Truth into the lives of those we care about, that they might likewise see God's ultimate good in the good available for them to do. A biblical vision of the available good puts confrontation, maturation, and sanctification in perspective.

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