📖 Scripture

11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you
14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge,
21 which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all.

🧾 Scripture Summary

Paul urges Timothy to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. He must fight the good fight of faith, take hold of eternal life, and keep the command until Jesus Christ appears. The rich must not hope in wealth; they must hope in God and be generous. Timothy is to guard what has been entrusted to him and avoid godless chatter and false knowledge.

🔍 Reflection

Our Good Confession (6:11–16)

Paul tells Timothy to flee from what false teachers and lovers of money do and to instead pursue the good things like righteousness, faith, love, and gentleness. We, like Timothy, are to pursue these things, living out the eternal life that began when we made what Paul calls the “good confession,” meaning our gospel testimony. Our testimony is built on the one that Jesus made before Pilate: Jesus Christ is King. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. When we proclaim Christ’s kingship, we are publicly declaring our faith in Him. Let us fight the good fight of faith and continue to flee sin and pursue righteousness.

💬 Reflection Question: Which of these virtues—righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness—do you need to pursue more today?

Storing Up Treasures (6:17–21)

Paul concludes his letter by instructing Timothy about what to teach rich believers in particular. He is to remind them not to place their security in money. Wealthier believers are expected to do good and be rich in good deeds. They should readily share their riches. Some of us are more focused on financial security than spiritual security. Let us be reminded of Paul’s words and recognize that the riches of good works are far better than worldly riches. If our hearts are fully committed to God, we will be focused on blessing others rather than keeping what we have for ourselves.

💬 Reflection Question: What treasures are you storing up in your life? Ask God to guide you in your finances and to help you be generous with what you have.

🙏 Prayer

Heavenly Father, You have given me all that I have, including my finances and my salvation. Help me to accept both with gratitude, prizing Your gift of salvation and stewarding Your financial provision well. I give You my heart and make You my treasure. In Christ’s name, amen.

✍ Essay

The Fight of Faith

While reflecting on Christians being called to fight the good fight of faith, two fables came to mind. In one story, a boar in the forest is sharpening his tusks against a tree. A fox asks why he is doing so since there is no hunter or other threat nearby. The boar explains that if danger overtakes him, he will not have time then to sharpen them, but now, his tusks will be ready for use.

In a second fable, an old lion is too weak to hunt, so he lies in a cave and pretends to be ill. Whenever animals come by, he seizes and eats them. When the lion asks a nearby fox why he refuses to come in and help a sick lion, the fox replies that he would have entered, but he saw many tracks going in and none coming out.

Both fables convey morals that can apply to the Christian fight. The first story shows us that we should not neglect righteousness, simply waiting until we feel the need to act righteously. Doing so will leave us unprepared and vulnerable. Instead, we should pursue the things of God every day, which trains us for future trials. The second story illustrates avoiding sin, especially when we recognize the harmful outcomes it can produce. In fact, Scripture tells us to flee from it. Thinking we can conquer sin on our own is like walking foolishly into a lion’s cave.

💬 Memory Verse

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
– 1 Timothy 4:12

📣 Today’s Inspiration

“God did not decide to be a being who is supremely valuable, supremely beautiful, supremely interesting, supremely admirable, and supremely enjoyable. He is who he is. That is what he is.”
– John Piper