Scripture Daily

Context No. 1884 of 4322 · 1 Timothy

Context · Reflection

1 Timothy 3:8-16: in context

8Servants, in the same way, must be reverent, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for money, 9holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. 10Let them also first be tested; then let them serve if they are blameless. 11Their wives in the same way must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, and faithful in all things. 12Let servants be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13For those who have served well gain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. 14These things I write to you, hoping to come to you shortly, 15but if I wait long, that you may know how men ought to behave themselves in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 16Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and received up in glory.

Paul sets out the qualifications for those who would serve as deacons in the church: dignified, sincere, not given to much wine, not greedy, holding the faith with a clear conscience. And he adds a principle: let them first be tested, and then let them serve, if they prove blameless. Those who serve well, he says, gain a good standing and boldness in the faith. He writes so that the church may know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, and closes with the great confession of the mystery of godliness: God revealed in the flesh.

Among Paul's instructions is a wise principle easily overlooked: let them first be tested, and then let them serve. Before entrusting people with responsibility in the church, Paul says, let their character and faithfulness be proven; do not appoint the untested. Faithfulness in service is to be demonstrated, not merely assumed; those who would take on responsibility should first show, over time, that they are trustworthy. There is wisdom here that applies well beyond the office of deacon. We are prone to rush people, and ourselves, into positions of responsibility on the strength of enthusiasm, giftedness, or eagerness, without first proving character and faithfulness. And this often goes badly; the untested, given responsibility too soon, are not ready for it, and both they and others suffer. Paul's principle is patience: let faithfulness be proven in smaller things before it is entrusted with greater; test first, then appoint. This reflects a truth Jesus taught, that the one faithful in little is the one to be trusted with much; faithfulness in the small and unseen is the proving ground for larger responsibility. And it counsels a like patience with ourselves: not to grasp at responsibility before we are ready, not to resent the season of being proven, but to be faithful where we are, letting our character be tested and formed, trusting that proven faithfulness is what fits us for what comes next. Lay hands hastily on no one, Paul says elsewhere; the appointing of people to responsibility is not to be rushed, but to follow the testing that shows them ready. The wise, in the church and in life, prove faithfulness before they entrust responsibility, in others and in themselves; and the season of being tested, though we may chafe at it, is the very thing that prepares us to serve well.

Am I inclined to rush people, or myself, into responsibility on the strength of eagerness or giftedness, without first proving character and faithfulness, or can I heed Paul's principle to let faithfulness be tested before it is entrusted with greater things, being faithful in the small and unseen and trusting that proven faithfulness is what prepares me to serve well?

Sources