Ahoy and welcome to another edition of TCD. This week we continue our study of 1st Timothy with Chapter 3. A chapter centrally focused on qualifications.
In the age of the 24-hour news cycle, what should we expect from our leaders? What actions are acceptable and which are inexcusable? Better yet, what standard are we as leaders called to live by? Our friend Paul provides an excellent framework that we will attempt to unpack this week.
In response the questions above, I'm sure we would submit a range of answers based on our anthropological histories, personal beliefs, and surroundings. However, I submit that at a basic level what we expect is for our leaders to represent us well. In the church or elsewhere in our lives, we want to respect and take pride in those we submit to. In the verses below, Paul lines out for Timothy what this should look like:
“If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he’s talking about, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church?”
On one level the list Paul rattles off probably confronts you, as it did me, on a couple tender issues. However, taking a step back there is an encouraging conclusion to be reached from the aggregate: we are all in the hunt! Paul doesn't list a series of impossible conditions or perfection, but what I would argue are reasonable character traits to aspire to. As leaders in at least one area of our lives, the description Paul provides should rally us to understand we can be successful and at the same time challenge us to achieve greater heights.
All too often we errantly label the standard as perfection and thus disqualify ourselves because we fail to achieve it . Paul's point is that God isn't looking for that, he's looking for people with the right heart; people like you and I. And as Paul points out in this letter, we demonstrate our ability to handle leadership challenges by how well we handle our personal affairs. The practical application being to organize your personal life to set yourself up for success in leadership positions.
To loop back to the beginning, this passage also provides a framework from which to analyze the actions of our leaders. I think we generally fall into two camps: 1. We are have become so disenchanted with all of them that we have given up applying moral standards to any of them, or 2. We accept whoever is the least morally corrupt as our champion. Sadly, I don't think either is the right answer. The passage today should help reframe our expectations and ensure we are gauging our leaders correctly. There are absolutely great people in this world worth following.
I know I certainly appreciated the fidelity this study brought me in terms off a viable end state to target. It's not an easy road but it's also by no means impossible.
Have a great week, like the post, and be sure to share with a friend.
-the contrary disciple