Thoughts on 1 Timothy as Micah 6:8

When I think of 1 Timothy, I am reminded of Micah 6:8:

He has shown you, O mankind, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

To me, this verse is an apt summary of the letter; Paul is conveying to Timothy and to the Ephesians what is good, and setting out for them what acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly before God looks like in a Christian community. You can think about this for yourself—but I will get you started.

FIrst, Paul presents the aim of the commandment: love, out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and an unfeigned faith. The prattling on, and multiplication of words, did not issue from a pure heart or a good conscience or an unfeigned faith, and was antithetical to love in the community. In a word, the wrangling and jangling and debate were not good. His antidote, his restoration of love in community, is prayer:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 

A life of prayer is good, and covers a multitude of sins. How? When you pray for all people, you are putting their interest above your own. You are mindful of them, but not of yourself—as much. In prayers, entreaties, and petitions for all people, considering the interests of these others first, you are walking, or beginning to walk, humbly before God.

Next, Paul sets the leadership in order; their priority is not in a word, but in a certain character. Right living is key for right leadership and authority, not speaking necessarily as a first principle. A man must act justly and love mercy in his own home. That experience establishes his qualifications for leadership or not. Let’s think of acting justly and loving mercy, and see for yourself whether that marries well with the qualifications of an overseer or guardian:

An overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, or if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

or with the qualifications of a deacon:

Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. 

Next, let’s look at acting justly and loving mercy in community, highlighted as they are in the issue of widows. Paul says, “Honor widows who are truly widows.” What’s interesting about this section in Chapter 5 is families are to act justly and to love mercy with their own widows, and thereby relieve the greater body of the burden. And the list of qualification for a true widow includes a life complete with acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly before God:

Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work. 

Finally let’s look at how Paul connects acting justly with loving mercy. Paul intended Timothy to reprove, rebuke, and correct. To act justly and to exercise a right judgment. The Ephesians were in error on many fronts. Multiple relationships and roles in the church were confused, and the church was stumbling over its own affluence and corresponding stinginess. But look at how the rebuke, the reproof, and the correction is to come:

Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

And a final word, from Paul, an echo of Micah 6:8:

They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Grace be with you.