Devotion: 1 Timothy 6:11

1 Timothy 6:11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

Before we begin going over today’s verse, we need to pause and read the context from which it is taken. We don’t know what Paul is telling Timothy to flee from without checking the context, so need to read and find out. In the previous verses, from about verse 3 through 10, we see Paul urging Timothy to avoid false teaching and the love of money. When he said to “flee these things” he was referring to the materialistic traps, greed, and arguments mentioned in the previous verses.

Instead of pursuing materialistic things, Paul urges Timothy to pursue six Godly virtues. These are righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. We will be focusing only on one – endurance, which is also seen as steadfastness in some versions, perseverance in others, and patience in the KJV and NKJV.  Timothy is not only to avoid these unholy things, he is told to flee them. To run from them. To escape from as quickly as possible.

While this letter was written to Timothy and addresses him in his role as a leader, the truth behind these words can be applied to our own walks today. We, too, need to flee ungodly things and pursue good virtues. We need to pursue patience. We don’t just have patience, we actively seek it. We go after it. Pursuing is an ongoing action  that isn’t finished only one time. We are to pursue it consistently, constantly, and in a continuous manner. We are not just running away from the ungodly things, but we are running TO the good ones.

Are you actively pursuing a life that is patient? Are you fleeing the negative things of our world and sins and seeking the virtue of patience and endurance? Run towards these six virtues and away from the sins of your life. Trust in God to reward you for your actions and know that you seek what is good, what is holy, what is right and true.

Prayer: Lord, Help me to flee from the materialistic sins and false teaching of this world. Let me run to You and Your embrace where I can be filled with Your patience. Amen 

You might also like this:

Devotion: Psalm 141:2 Devotion: Psalm 16:9 Devotion: John 6:48