Day at the Races: The First Turn! — Monday
James 4:7-8
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (ESV)
Are you blessed with a green thumb? Out of context, that’s a weird question I guess, so here’s some context: My lawn is out of control. I’m no horticulturist, but I know I have some exotic blend of undesirable plants with animal terms like crab, lamb, quack, and chick, as well as spooky Halloween-type terms like creeping and spurge. Basically, if there’s a condition that works best for a certain type of weed, my yard has the condition, and the weed. I recruited the help of a local lawn care company to try to get some grass in the fight for control of my lawn and have recently noticed little baby grasses, so that’s pretty exciting.
Unearthing weeds out of a yard is tough work. I’ve honestly neglected doing it for too long, but I have a weeding tool on the way that, by the time you read this, will have arrived and hopefully can help. I’ll keep you posted.
Have you ever let something take root in your life that was (or is) really hard to weed out? If we look at 1 Timothy 6:11, we see that Timothy is commanded by Paul to flee from evil. Right before this, Paul talks about what to avoid in pursuit of contentment, and he caps those instructions off with a very famous verse referring to money as the root of all kinds of evil in verse 10.
Paul’s directive to Timothy is to FLEE from these kinds of dangers. Don’t tip-toe, rationalize, walk, or justify. Just go. Don’t consider them—fly from them.
I think we often find ourselves rationalizing the sin or worldly tendencies in our lives rather than heeding the advice Paul gives Timothy. All the while, the roots from those tendencies are sinking further and further into our lives, and then before we know it, we can’t flee—we’re rooted or anchored down by those things.
I think we all have things in our lives that we know we’ve allowed to take root and have caused chaos and harm—things that would have resulted in a very different outcome if we had fled them.
This week, we are diving into 1 Timothy 6:11-12 and the scripture surrounding it, talking about the four imperatives Paul gives Timothy. Fleeing evil implies that we are moving fast in another direction—toward righteousness. And tomorrow, I hope you’ll tune back in as we discuss that pursuit.
Monday’s Reflection
What has taken root in your life that isn’t giving life or allowing you to pursue righteousness? Pray today for Jesus to help you dismantle those roots, unearth the unhealth, and pursue righteousness instead.
