1 Timothy 6:11
But you, man of God, flee from all of this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
Flee. Pursue.
But you, man of God, flee from all of this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
Flee. Pursue.
Not passive words but descriptive verbs requiring action on our part.
Instructions given to offer us direction. Guidance imparted to us to
give permission to literally flee from the evilness and temptations of
this world.
Too often, though, we try to endure both sides. We listen to instructions we should never hear, we entertain circles we should never enter into and we remain long after the darkness has been brought to light. We want to be liked. We want to help. We want to make a difference. And when we stay when we should have ran, when we linger when we should have walked or when we dabble when we should have left, we wait passively for God to save us.
When all along we could have just walked away.....to be obedient and simply flee right from the beginning.
If we flee from the beginning, we skip all of the baggage that we slowly tend to collect. If we run instead of linger, we forego the pain and suffering that will be heaped upon us. If we leave instead of dabble, we allow ourselves to be protected instead of willingly walking into the gallows.
We, alone, control what we allow ourselves, our minds and souls be privy to as we live in this world. A choice. Initially, fleeing is difficult. It follows both from the outside and from inside our own mind. People who are used to us partaking in gossip, greed and earthly desires will continue to expect us to continue as we have in the past. First by lightheartedly pushing then by hurtful slurs and threats. We will loose relationships. We will live set apart. Invitations will cease and conversations change.
Perhaps though, the greatest battleground is in our mind. We play through old memories, broken promises and unfiltered dreams. We linger at what could have been choosing to entertain our emotions from within our mind. We harbor regrets and anger. We think thoughts that we would never speak for fear that someone might hear. They stay unfettered in the recesses of our mind.
Flee. No questions or arguments. Flee.
Pursue love, righteousness, godliness, faith, endurance and gentleness instead. Again, active engagement, active choices. Each of us choose how we desire to live. Do we flee the things of this world and pursue those of our Creature?
Choose wisely. Live worthy.
Too often, though, we try to endure both sides. We listen to instructions we should never hear, we entertain circles we should never enter into and we remain long after the darkness has been brought to light. We want to be liked. We want to help. We want to make a difference. And when we stay when we should have ran, when we linger when we should have walked or when we dabble when we should have left, we wait passively for God to save us.
When all along we could have just walked away.....to be obedient and simply flee right from the beginning.
If we flee from the beginning, we skip all of the baggage that we slowly tend to collect. If we run instead of linger, we forego the pain and suffering that will be heaped upon us. If we leave instead of dabble, we allow ourselves to be protected instead of willingly walking into the gallows.
We, alone, control what we allow ourselves, our minds and souls be privy to as we live in this world. A choice. Initially, fleeing is difficult. It follows both from the outside and from inside our own mind. People who are used to us partaking in gossip, greed and earthly desires will continue to expect us to continue as we have in the past. First by lightheartedly pushing then by hurtful slurs and threats. We will loose relationships. We will live set apart. Invitations will cease and conversations change.
Perhaps though, the greatest battleground is in our mind. We play through old memories, broken promises and unfiltered dreams. We linger at what could have been choosing to entertain our emotions from within our mind. We harbor regrets and anger. We think thoughts that we would never speak for fear that someone might hear. They stay unfettered in the recesses of our mind.
Flee. No questions or arguments. Flee.
Pursue love, righteousness, godliness, faith, endurance and gentleness instead. Again, active engagement, active choices. Each of us choose how we desire to live. Do we flee the things of this world and pursue those of our Creature?
Choose wisely. Live worthy.
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