-Devotion by Makenna Landry (MN)
Key passage: “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” 1 Timothy 1:5 (NIV)
Hezekiah was a great king guiding the people towards the LORD. Instead of simply giving the people instructions on what they should be doing, he served as an example of sacrifice, prayer, and worship. Can you think of someone in your own life who has served as a great example of this to you? I know I can think of many individuals who led with a steadfast love for God going to Him in trials, giving to Him generously, thanking for what He has done, and encouraging others to live in the same way.
However, pride is easy to fall into. Hezekiah even in all his devotion to God, the victory and success he saw from God, still his pride blocked kindness and God’s healing work. It’s like in the movie Cars. My four year old is obsessed with this movie (but so is my brother). Lightning McQueen is talented and skilled. He has a lot of success but has a huge ego that not only is a problem in the first movie but even continues to be problematic in the third movie! Even after learning to lean on others and take advice, in Cars 3 McQueen once again faces his pride. It blocks him from seeing the opportunity in front of him of mentoring Cruz. Even though he had learned how to manage his pride it came right back in a difficult situation. Similar to Hezekiah who was so devoted then his pride came blinding him from God’s goodness.
How have you struggled with pride in your life? What are ways that you avoid becoming prideful?
One way that we see pride within the church is pride in doctrine. It’s so amazing to have truth which we see in 1 Timothy, but we must be careful how we talk about truth and how we utilize 1 Timothy 1. Let’s take a moment to further understand what Paul is saying in today’s passage.
Paul is facing an issue which seems very common in his letters: false teachers. Sometimes false teachers come in sheep’s clothing like in Matthew 7 while others confidently speak on things that are not true. In this passage, the false teachers are teaching false doctrine. Some Biblical unitarians might jump to the thought, “they are teaching the trinity! Run away!” But Paul makes clear what these false teachers are focusing on. That is myths and endless genealogies. Myths and endless genealogies were likely mythical or false stories built upon the genealogies we see in the Old Testament. These would be things similar to Paradise Lost. Paradise Lost is a book that speculates what it was like in the garden of Eden expanding on the account of Genesis 1-3. It would be as if we started teaching that the book Paradise Lost is biblical truth instead of being a fictional poetic expression of Genesis 1-3.
We should not take pride when rebuking and guiding a false teacher back to the truth. Instead, it should be with an attitude of love, faith, patience, and mercy. We also need to remember that the person we are trying to guide toward a better understanding of truth also has their own pride. We see in Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones that Anakin Skywalker has an insane amount of pride. It not only attributes to his reckless abandon but to his inability to fall under the authority of the Jedi counsel. The Jedi counsel attempts to shape well with patience, wise counsel, and a heaping amount of grace and yet Anakin does not conquer his pride. Be careful my friends in how you interact with people. Do not have your own pride and continue to be aware that they too struggle with pride.
Questions to Ponder
How do you see pride within your own life? What is your response when someone points out your pride?
Take a minute to reflect on ways that God has provided that you may have not noticed. Consider how you can be more aware of God’s actions within your life and your response towards His workings. How can you rely on Him and praise His good deeds?
When someone is not teaching the truth, how can you be aware of your own pride and their pride when teaching them truth?
Prayer Time
Take five minutes to pray today. Thank God for His good works in your life. Thank Him for His Holy Scripture. Ask Him to guide you closer and closer towards truth each day and lean on Him to take away your pride.
Seek Grow Love 