October 16

NT -- 1 Timothy 1:1-20
Timothy is one of the Pastoral Letters of Paul. Paul left him behind in Ephesus to "command certain men not to teach false doctrines". Wow. Big job for anyone much less a young man. And our passage today ends with the statement that Paul has already handed over 'to Satan'!!! Hymenaeus and Alexander. Don't mess with Paul.
I thought it was interesting that Paul, the very persona of rules, would say that laws are not given for the righteous but for the lawbreakers.
Which led me to think about how *I* feel about rules and laws. I freely admit that I break a law willfully and might I say, skillfully, several times a day. I speed. 55 drives me crazy on 400 and 285.
But other than that, I really, really like rules. I like knowing where my boundaries are and how close or how far I am from the bull's eye. Both bad and good.
I like checklists and I like definitives. I really don't like the whole 'it's about faith' thing. I like knowing where I stand. Mostly because for me, the faith thing is up and down. And I get that.
For Paul, everything was about the faith.

Check out this cool resource on the book of 1st timothy.

Proverbs 25:17
Seldom set foot in your neighbor's house -- too much of you, and he will hate you.

OOOOH! True words of wisdom.