Morning Moments

1 Timothy 5:21-23 (KJV)
21 I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. 22 Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure. 23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities. .

Permit me to quote from the Bible Exposition Commentary regarding these verses:

The instructions in this section deal primarily with the elders, but the principles also apply to a pastor's relationship with any officer in his church. It is a wonderful thing when the elders and deacons (and other officers) work together in harmony and love. It is tragic when a pastor tries to become a spiritual dictator (1 Peter 5:3), or when an officer tries to be a preeminent "big shot" (3 John 9-10).

Apparently Timothy was having some problems with the elders of the church at Ephesus. He was a young man and still had much to learn. Ephesus was not an easy place to minister. Furthermore, Timothy had followed Paul as overseer of the church, and Paul would not be an easy man to follow! Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20) shows how hard he had worked and how faithful he had been, and how much the elders loved Paul (Acts 20:36-38). In spite of the fact that Paul had personally sent Timothy to Ephesus, the young man was having a hard time.

This situation may be the reason for Paul's instruction about wine (1 Tim. 5:23). Did Timothy have stomach trouble? Was he ill because of his many responsibilities and problems? Or had he tried to follow the ideas of some ascetics (1 Tim. 4:1-5), only to discover that his diet was making him worse instead of better? We do not know the answers to all these questions; we can only read between the lines. It is worth noting that Paul's mention of wine here is not an endorsement of the entire alcohol industry. Using wine for medicinal reasons is not an encouragement for social drinking. As we have seen, though the Bible does not demand total abstinence, it does denounce drunkenness.

* Bible Exposition Commentary - New Testament - The Bible Exposition Commentary – New Testament, Volume 2.

Paul had observed Timothy's life and gifts for some time before sending him to Ephesus. He did not get in a hurry. He refused to allow the "tyranny of the urgent" to blur his vision of what was important. Timothy could "listen" and "lead", which is too often rare in young men. Too many young men want to drop the leadership of elderly sages for the leadership of young zealots whose zeal is not "according to knowledge".

As an unskilled man with a scalpel who has great love for me might have good intentions in his desire to remove the growth in my stomach, I DO NOT WANT HIM TO TRY! The wise gastrologist scopes the problem and sends me to the oncologist. Zeal is wonderful, but zeal without knowledge, experience, and maturity can be deadly - even with good intentions.

He was my Minister of Music and my dear friend for years. He was diagnosed with gall stones and agreed to surgery. In surgery, the doctor accidently cut off a little piece of his pancreas. He developed infection and died a couple of weeks later. The doctor buried his mistake.

Far too many "novices" in ministry have damaged, and then moved on. They may have good intentions, a good education and zeal, but without the wisdom of God and the anointing of God, can be like bulls in China shops. Let us learn all we can, get all the education we can, but NEVER substitute carnal desire and cheap tricks in leading people to know that "receiving" Jesus means "giving" your life. It is a life for a life proposition, not merely saying a sweet little prayer, being baptized, and joining a church.

Remember the church of the Laodiceans (not the Church of God IN Laodicea), they were rich, and increased with goods, and had need of nothing - IN THEIR OWN MINDS, BUT GOD SAW that they were "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked".

May God give today's Church godly men and godly members; holy leader and holy led. Amen!

Blessings!