I Timothy 4:1-16
Keep a close watch on yourself…(v. 16a). I think Paul is talking here about responsibility and accountability. We are responsible to ourselves to keep that “close watch”, which is, in effect, our self-control. One way to keep that close watch on ourselves is to allow ourselves to be accountable to another individual or to a group of people. Having an accountability to others helps us in a big way with our own self-control. I have mentioned Freedom Road a number of times and my own interaction with that group. I have seen how they (we) personally hold them/ourselves accountable to each other. Each week the person leading the group that week asks for reports of “recovery threatening or recovery enhancing” issue(s) in the past week (or longer). And this is that time for members of the group to be accountable to each other. Occasionally it is a time for confessing shortcomings (as I had to acknowledge this past week); other times it is a time for offering praise for continuing down a road to recovery. Not everyone in this group is an alcoholic or drug addict. But we are all addicted to something (gambling, sex, food, work, shopping, etc.) and we need each other. Our “General Confession” in our Sunday service is a great time for personal reflection, but too often (for me anyhow) it’s just words that I speak. To really confess (again, for me, at least) is to speak to someone else as to where you are. We can take comfort in Scripture as to the truth of that statement: …confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. (James 5:16a) I don’t know any better way to heed Paul’s words to Timothy: Keep a close watch on yourself…
See also: September 22 / I Timothy 4:1-5; September 23 / I Timothy 4:6-11; September 24 / I Timothy 4:12-16
A cautionary note for me too…
I’m reminded again of Ben’s sermon last week (as I have been several times this week in our readings), this time in verses 7-8 where Paul mentions religious practices that may seem “godly” but are not. (Ben commented on how his morning quiet times may have been more about himself than about God…)
I think it is also easy to fall into allegiances to certain teachings or ideologies that, upon further reflection, we might want to avoid. Even teachings we embraced in our childhood churches. Over and over we encountered such “false narratives” about Jesus and his teachings in our Women’s Bible Study last summer. Now I try to weigh things I may have simply accepted without much thought in the past.
Totally agree, Carol!