Saturday September 24th, 2016 1 Timothy 6:6-19
Fight the good fight of the faith? (verse 12)
We’re a couple of days away from Remembrance Day as I write this devotion for the following September. Today’s passage puts me in mind of when my son was a little boy. His games were often inspired by what had been read to him. Though he enjoyed re-enacting the story of David and Goliath, he held a particular fondness for donning St. George’s armour to fight the dragon. Closing in on the imaginary beast, my son would proudly proclaim, “I’m fighting the good fight!” How many times have world leaders chosen similar words to convince themselves of the goodness of their actions?
The pastoral writer of 1 Timothy 6 uses military terminology to encourage God’s people to fight a different kind of battle-a spiritual one. Our battleground will be within rather than without, as will be the cause of our potential defeat. The desire for more money, more possessions and more knowledge is the enemy within our hearts and minds.
To defeat this internal enemy, we, as God’s people, are called upon to change our strategy. We are to replace the “mores” of greed with the “mores” of the kingdom of God-more good works, more generosity and more sharing. That’s how we will win “the good fight of the faith.”
Lord, teach us to pick the right battles. Amen. — CKA
Contributed by Onward Christian Soldiers
We're a couple of days away from Remembrance Day as I write this devotion for the following September. Today's passage puts me in mind of when my son was a little boy. His games were often inspired by what had been read to him. Though he enjoyed re-enacting the story of David and Goliath, he held a particular fondness for donning St. George's armour to fight the dragon. Closing in on the imaginary beast, my son would proudly proclaim, "I'm fighting the good fight!" How many times have world leaders chosen similar words to convince themselves of the goodness of their actions?
The pastoral writer of 1 Timothy 6 uses military terminology to encourage God's people to fight a different kind of battle-a spiritual one. Our battleground will be within rather than without, as will be the cause of our potential defeat. The desire for more money, more possessions and more knowledge is the enemy within our hearts and minds.
To defeat this internal enemy, we, as God's people, are called upon to change our strategy. We are to replace the "mores" of greed with the "mores" of the kingdom of God-more good works, more generosity and more sharing. That's how we will win "the good fight of the faith."
