Got Fruit ?

It’s tough sometimes being a parent. Or how about the role of being a student, teacher, employee, a friend, athlete or mentor? Regardless of what title or titles that you carry, those titles are all components of who you are;not one single title describes any of us completely, not even being a Christian. See? We’re several things to many people within our lives, sometimes though, when we find that one role that we excel in, or feel a calling to fulfill we can let it consume us.

Personal gratification received, or admiration from others might be the motives behind our actions and the roles we play. Even when the motives are pure, & simply from a servants heart; focus on the BIG picture may become blurred due to tunnel-vision.

1st Timothy 4:16 (KJV)
Take heed unto thyself…

While Timothy was tending to the church of Ephesus as Senior pastor, he experienced much stress due to the tremendous task laid on such a young man. The church of Ephesus was the mega church of ancient times & Timothy stayed busy constantly. He contended with the sour attitudes of the older church leaders, who had their robes in knots concerning Timothy’s ability to lead because of his youth. He also had to face the daily challenges of a pastor of a large church & other time consuming tasks associated with taking care of the church (flock).

When Paul wrote his 1st letter to Timothy, one of the reasons he did so was to remind Timothy to remember to also take care of himself; in addition to taking care of God’s business. The phrase “Take heed unto thyself..” that Paul used, comes from the Greek word EPECHO; a compound of the Greek words EP & ECHO.

• EP means “on”
• ECHO means “to have” or “to hold”

When the words EP & ECHO are compounded to form the word EPECHO; the new word formed means: “to grab hold of something very tightly” (a very firm or extreme grip!) Rick Renner of Sparkling Gems gives an additional thought to EPECHO as this:

“It’s easy to become distracted by other things that scream for your attention. If your relationship with God suffers because you are trying to help everyone else, it will just be a matter of time until you run dry, lose your energy and passion, and have nothing more to offer”.
- Rick Renner (Sparkling Gems)

In contrast to the Scriptural idea of God first and then others before self that Jesus left us with(Matthew 22:37-40); here is an example of a time where we as Christians need to realize that there are circumstances that arise; where a little “selfishness” should be exercised,where we need to “grab hold tightly” to what is cherished most. See.. when your so busy serving or doing for others, to the point that you neglect to take time to spend, or “make time” to spend with God, the joy in doing God’s work is undermined by the ritual or to put it another way; the routine eventually becomes mundane.

The focus on God and His overall mission for us gets lost in the act of idolizing the role we play, we in essence steal time away from God (Deuternomy 5:7-8, 19). Now this isn’t free license to use the excuse “Sorry Pastor Bob, I’d love to help out with the children’s play tonight but…I’ve got Bible study at that time.” just to to get out of serving. NO… we just need to remember to have balance. Each of us needs to ensure that we have our own personal time dedicated to investing in our relationship with the Lord. In doing so, you’ll be spiritually sharper as well as physically and mentally sharp; enabling you to hear & heed what God has ordained in your life.

Grace and peace be with you.