1 Timothy 6:1–5 (ESV)
1 Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. 2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. Teach and urge these things. 3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
In this passage, we get another set of instructions from Paul to Timothy regarding Christians who are slaves, and it also addresses Christian slaves who have Christian masters, and then Paul has something to say about false and puffed-up teachers.
Regarding slaves and slavery, we must do our best to get out of our 21st-century context and enter the 1st-century context. During the time that Paul was writing, slavery was a normal practice for pretty much everyone. Slaves came from a variety of categories: from those who were conquered peoples, to those who were enslaved because of financial problems. In Paul’s context, roughly one-third of the population at the time were slaves, and most free families had one or two slaves (except the very poor).
So, when we understand Paul’s context, we can understand how practical and radical Paul’s instructions are. These instructions are for believers who are slaves and how they are to relate to their masters. Paul’s statement is radical in that Paul clearly points to the fact that in Christ everyone is equal (Galatians 3.28). So rather than offering up some abstract thinking on the subject which doesn’t benefit anyone, Paul gives practical ways of relating to each other, to honor and be respectful, so that all may benefit, and that God may be glorified.
Then Paul addresses the problem of false teachers who quarrel and squabble over words to puff themselves up as an authority. These false teachers want money, and they are creating a completely unhealthy environment that destroys Christian fellowship, love, unity, trust, and witness.
I love what Paul does here. He clearly wants Timothy to deal with this problem through sound teaching and godly living. Paul wants Timothy to be prepared, to be ready, so that he can deal with these issues.
As I read through these instructions, I find myself again asking, “What does this mean for us here and now?”
Again, we must remember that our faith in Christ isn’t an abstract ideology that we simply muse over from time to time when it’s easy and convenient. Our faith isn’t just active when we’re at church or participating in a Bible study. Our faith is a relationship that influences every aspect and relationship of our lives.
Our faith in Christ reveals how we are to relate to one another, and it gives us clear direction when we see trouble brewing on the horizon.
We must “teach and urge these things” (sound doctrine and how people are to relate to each other as Christians), otherwise we run the terrible risk of letting others define us and destroying not only our fellowship with each other but also our witness in the world.
So, my encouragement and my challenge to you is to do something simple, something which you’re already doing if you are reading this devotional: stay the course and continue to read and know Scripture. Pay attention to Jesus every day throughout your day. In doing so, you will grow in faith, love, trust, and your witness in the world because you are coming to know, love, and follow Jesus Christ.
God bless you, and know that you are prayed for constantly!
Scott