Service In Who We Are

1 Timothy 5: 1-2 Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

Paul is advising Timothy as to how to deal with various people within the church.

The message of this passage was almost lost on me. It is such a straight forward admonishment to "be nice" that I almost didn't see how far it draws us out of ourselves and into the Kingdom of God. In each of his examples Paul tells Timothy to treat these people as if they were his family members; his father, mother, brother or sister. He is urging him to treat the people around him as if they are people who he loves and is deeply concerned with. That is far different from the way we tend to relate to the general population. Far to often we approach people with the attitude of "What can they do for me?" We use others to build up our self esteem, status or to advance our agenda. Sometimes we foster friendships with people because they are the right kind of people to know or because of their influence. Oh, and by the way, when I say we, I mean me. Most of the people around me serve some sort of purpose and when they aren't serving their purpose, my attitude towards then changes. Paul was pointing to a different way of doing things though, one he had been taught by the Holy Spirit. In the truth that Jesus draws us into, we trust in the Father and don't have a need to manipulate people to get what we need. We trust Him for our needs. The grace and love that we are given can't be contained within us and flows out in a new attitude toward those around us. Free from the fear of not having enough or not being enough we are free to share what He has given us with others. We are free to love and care for others even if there is nothing in it for us. Acting in the best interest of our neighbor becomes our best option. It really is a rebirth and amounts to a whole new life. We have to be willing to let go of the things of the old life to take hold of the new however. It's all a matter of trust.

Father God, Lead me to let go of my control and to trust You. Amen.