WHO WILL YOU FOLLOW
1 Timothy 4:7-16
7 Have nothing to do with profane and foolish tales. Train yourself in godliness, 8 for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and suffer reproach, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers as an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. 15 Put these things into practice, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Story telling is older than the Bible. Stories are the way traditions and knowledge have been passed down for centuries. Well before there was the printing press and well before more than 15% of people could read, people told stories. The Bible as we know it, is the written record of such stories. This codification however is a double edged sword. On the one hand, it allows transmission in a consistent form but on the other it freezes a process in a moment of time. A Zen saying is “A cup of water taken from a flowing stream, isn’t.” An inherent quality of story is its fluidity and movement. Once written, however, it is difficult to retain those characteristics of the original.
It is a lot easier to say: “That’s what the Bible says” than to say: “That’s what the Bible means.” This week’s scripture is about advice Paul was offering his mentee, Timothy. If you read the entire letter, you will find significant sections that are bound to the time of its writing. For instance in chapter 2:11-12: Paul cautions women : “Let a woman learn in silence, with full submission. I do not permit a woman to have authority over a man;”. Some people still use these words to oppose female clergy and leaders. It is with no small irony, a woman holding such views, told me that the injunctions against jewelry found a bit later in the letter, did not apply.
In all fairness the other end of this debate suggests that we can pick and choose which biblical words should be applicable in today’s world. The famous Thomas Jefferson Bible was a highly edited version which filtered out anything Thomas Jefferson disagreed with. Making a story our story is a process that turns external truths poured into our skulls into interior convictions which guide our lives.
I raise these concerns because this week we are focusing upon the mentor-mentee relationship between Paul and Timothy. Anytime we are learning from someone else’s knowledge or experience, at some point we must make it our own. We must evaluate, or at least hold in abeyance, any words of authority—biblical or otherwise. This particular excerpt from Paul’s letter to Timothy does not expose the problem. It is only when we read the rest of the story that problems of authority become more prominent.
In Faith and Real Life, I asked people to relate stories in which they were mentored and stories in which they mentored others. Several people mentioned they had been taught that mentoring was a two way street. A mentor should and could learn from a mentee. Such mutuality reveals the truth that relationships need to be based upon respect rather than agreement.
Jesus did not demand agreement. He just said His way led to life, you choose. There is nothing that Jesus did that was so convincing that all who saw believed. We cannot use authoritarian tactics to teach love. That is a critical part of his story. Paul is right on the edge turning his interpretations into a new ‘law’. When we attempt to take him literally, we repeat the first century struggle in which Jesus simultaneously held fast to the law—even as he was appealing to the Spirit of the Law rather than the Letter of the Law.
All of us need teachers. All of us need the wisdom of those who have gone before us. The Bible and its stories are such a mentor. It is up to each of us to try on this new way of life. It is only when we engage the Word that it can become part of us.
Early in a child’s life, the rule: “Thou shalt not play in the street is non-negotiable.” Later the child will learn that of course she can play in the street, it is just very dangerous. When she learns that playing in the street is her choice—and that it is dangerous—she can trust the authority of her mentor. The same is true of our faith.
We cannot learn to trust Jesus as our mentor, much less as our Lord and Savior, if we do not do the work of asking hard questions to find out if Jesus’ way is indeed the way to life. His way must become internal. Let it be so.
PS I love this quote for its dollop of humility and hope. I give the quote authority because it very much matches my experience in real life.
No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness. (Reinhold Niebuhr, The Irony of American History)
