1 Timothy 4:13-16
Introduction: Returning to our series on Paul’s letter to Timothy, Paul writes to offer instructions and guidance for diagnosing and treating spiritual unhealth in the church of Ephesus. Just as our whole world is now focused on diagnosing and treating the physical threat of COVID-19, 1 Timothy’s urgent focus is on diagnosing/treating spiritual health in order to bring restoration and life back to the Ephesian church. In our world, everything has changed BUT the signs of life and the metrics of spiritual health have not. One of the most important metrics for spiritual health during this time is one of the most important metrics Paul gives Timothy – “paying attention”.
1. Paying Attention to Ourselves
In the modern world, our capacity to pay attention is shrinking. In 2015, a research study indicated that human beings have shorter attention spans than a goldfish! This underlines the challenges we face in heeding Paul’s instruction to pay attention to 2 key things, the first of which is our very own life.
What does it mean to “pay close attention to our life”? The literal translation of v.16 is “Pay close attention to your self”. “Self” can be a fairly broad concept, but it is important not to mischaracterize Paul’s intention. Because in one sense, we don’t need to be told to pay attention to ourselves! Aren’t we all already quite good at this? Self absorption, self-focus, just plain selfishness – isn’t that our main problem? Yes, selfishness is at the heart of sin
Paul is telling Timothy to give time and space for honest self-awareness in the presence of God. Paying attention to ourselves means giving time and space to ask and consider honest questions about our emotions and our soul, such as: How am I really doing? What is really going on in my soul? How is my inner life aligned with my outer life (ie. am I pretending? hypocrisy?)? How well is my heart (how I live and what I say) aligned with my mind (what I claim to believe)?
Jesus himself modeled this. One of many examples is from Luke 5:15-16: “The news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Why did Jesus need to do this?
Jesus, the Son of God, perfect human being, often withdrew from people and activity, from needs of people, to pay attention to himself. He was deeply aware of his own need for rest and for prayer, and to give time/space for honest self-awareness in the presence of God.
Jesus also told his disciples to do this. In Mark 6:30-31, “the apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. He said, “Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest a while… for many people were coming and going and they did not even have time to eat…”
The apostles come to Jesus, excited to tell him what they have done, and Jesus responds by asking, “When is the last time you ate? You’ve done well. But get away rest, eat”. Jesus here is saying – to them and to us – you need to pay attention to yourself, or you are risking: a) burn out and quitting or b) burn out while pretending everything is okay. In either case, you’ve lost yourself and the true good you are meant to do for others.
The Psalms can guide and inspire us – The best place to find examples of this are in the Psalms: Why are you cast down O my soul (42, 43)? Rest in God alone O my soul (62). Wake up my soul, Bless the Lord O my soul. Who is the Psalmist talking to? Himself, in the presence of God.
1 Timothy reveals that, in actuality self-awareness it isn’t just about ourselves at all. For Timothy, paying attention to himself (and the teaching he shares) is what makes him able to bring life and health to others. As Pastor Pete Scazzero says, “we cannot give what we don’t possess.”
We need each other now more than ever – spouses, kids, friends, family, neighbors. But we cannot give what we do not possess, and we cannot possess unless we give time and space for honest self-awareness in the presence of God.
However, paying attention to ourselves is not the end of the story. Paul isn’t just talking about the benefits of meditation, mindfulness, and emotional honesty, he is talking about how we become personally present to God. So not only do we need to know and be aware of our “real selves”, we also need to pay attention to the God who loves the real us.
2. Paying Attention to God
John Calvin, the great 16th century theologian, began his most well-known work on the Christian faith with these famous words, “Without knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God. Our wisdom, insofar as it ought to be deemed true and solid wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But as these are connected by many ties, it is not easy to determine which of the two precedes and gives birth to the other.” Calvin shows us the inseparable connection between self-awareness and God-awareness. Calvin is saying in knowing ourselves, we come to know God.
In knowing God, we come to know ourselves. He goes on to explain that when we consider the gifts we have received in life; when we wonder at the miracle of existence and when we become more aware of our own spiritual poverty, brokenness, affliction and our sin, it’s there that God’s hand finds us and leads us to HIMSELF.
How do we pay attention to God and reach out to grab his outstretched hand? Paul tells Timothy to pay attention to teaching (v13, 16), to public reading and exhortation (V13). The point is that God we pay attention to God by paying attention to his Word.
Timothy was asking Paul, “Help! What will save me in this tough pastoral situation?” Paul says start here - “Pay attention to yourself and to the God who saves.” Today we are saying, “Help! What will save us from this coronavirus pandemic? What will save me from the fear, the anxiety, the things about me that are being exposed that I don’t want to see or admit in this time? What will save us from death?”
Paul’s message is the same to us - pay attention to yourself and to the God who saves through Jesus Christ. What we give our best attention to – whether that is news, government, medical experts, the economy – that is what we are really looking to for salvation in this time. But only One can truly save us from all that we fear and are struggling with in this time. Our Savior who lived, died and rose again to save us.
So what does this look like? First realize what you are giving your attention to. Whatever that is – that’s your functional Savior. Turn your attention away from it. Next, refuse to hide what’s really going on with yourself. Come out of hiding. Pay attention to your thoughts and emotions. Pray them to God (see Psalm 139 for an example of this). Then pay attention to God by meditating on his Word. There are many ways to do this. His attributes, his actions, his promises.
DIAGNOSE – Where is your attention most directed during this time? How might you being looking to this thing/these things to save you?
REFLECT OR DISCUSS
What about the message most impacted you or left you with questions?
What does Paul mean by pay attention to our “life” or “self”? How does this not lead us self absorption and selfishness? Why is paying attention ourselves necessary for us to pay proper attention to loving others? (verse 16 makes a clear connection)
One of the main reasons we don’t pay attention to ourselves in this way is that we are afraid of what we might find. How does the following quote from the sermon help us with this?
a. “The real God can handle the real you. He already knows everything about you. The gospel is that He loves the real you – the “you” that you don’t want to pay attention to! He loves that you, He has more than enough grace for whatever is really going on with you.”As you notice things going on inside of your heart and mind in this time, how might God be using these things to reach out his hand to you and draw you closer to Himself?
What truths about God, about what God has done or what God has promised do you most need to pay attention to in this time?
What practices do you currently have to give time and space for honest self-awareness in the presence of God? What practices do you currently have in your life to pay attention to God through His Word?