Scripture Daily

Context No. 1516 of 4322 · 1 Timothy

Context · Reflection

1 Timothy 4:6-11: in context

6If you instruct the brothers of these things, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have followed. 7But refuse profane and old wives’ fables. Exercise yourself toward godliness. 8For bodily exercise has some value, but godliness has value in all things, having the promise of the life which is now and of that which is to come. 9This saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance. 10For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have set our trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. 11Command and teach these things.

Paul counsels Timothy on what makes a good servant of Christ. Refuse the silly myths and empty tales, he says, and train yourself for godliness. For bodily training is of some value, but godliness is of value in every way, holding promise for the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying; to this end we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, the Savior of all, and especially of those who believe.

The image Paul uses is worth catching: train yourself for godliness. The word he chooses is the one used for athletic training, the disciplined, effortful practice by which an athlete conditions the body. Godliness, Paul is saying, is like that; it does not simply happen, and it is not merely a matter of good intentions, but something to be trained for, cultivated by deliberate, sustained discipline, the way a body is trained by exercise. We readily accept that physical fitness takes work, regular effort, discipline over time; Paul asks us to bring the same seriousness to growing godly. There is no shortcut to godliness any more than to fitness; it comes through the steady practice of the things that form it, prayer, obedience, the disciplines of the spiritual life, kept up over time. And Paul weighs its value against bodily training: the physical has some value, but godliness has value in every way, for it holds promise not only for this life but for the life to come. Bodily fitness serves us for a few decades and then fails with the body; godliness serves us now and forever. There is a right ordering of effort in that. Many of us will spend great discipline on the training of the body, which profits for a little while, and give little disciplined effort to the training of the soul, which profits forever. Paul urges the reverse priority: train yourself for godliness, with the same seriousness you would bring to the body and more, because its value outlasts this life.

Do I bring to the training of my soul the disciplined effort I readily give to lesser things, remembering that godliness, like fitness, must be trained for, and that its value, unlike the body's, holds promise for both this life and the life to come?

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