I have a love/hate relationship with working out. I love the results of working out, losing weight, endorphins unleashed, more energy, but I hate the inconvenience of working out and the time it takes to get the results I want. Every time that I start working out, I question if it is worth it and every time when I finish, I commit to never stop. At times I feel like a divided person. And then just as I get in a good rhythm of working out, things unexpectedly come up – a trip, a busy week or two, getting sick, a snowstorm. It begins with me missing a day or two and before I know it I have missed weeks of working out and I have to start over.
As Paul continues to encourage Timothy, Paul reminds him of how to live a thriving life.
Key 8 – Work Hard at Being Healthy
2 TIm:15 Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. 16 Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior. 17 This kind of talk spreads like cancer, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus. 18 They have left the path of truth, claiming that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; in this way, they have turned some people away from the faith.
19 But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,”and “All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil.
Paul reiterates that Timothy will have to work hard to remain spiritually healthy. For many of us, this reminder is where we get off track from living a thriving life. Somewhere in our culture we have become fooled to believe that if we are living a thriving life then things should be easy and without struggle. I have talked to dozens and dozens of people who have considered walking away from God because things were hard and if they were really doing the God thing right then it would be easy and it would be natural. We have to rewire our minds and our hearts to understand that hard work is necessary and vital to a healthy, thriving life. Hard work is not the enemy or a sign that something is wrong, hard work is the action that leads to a deeper, wider impact, thriving life. For many of us the commitment of working hard at being who God made us to be is the break through that we are desperately looking for.
Paul doesn’t stop there, in fact he gives Timothy some keys on how to stay committed to working hard by not getting caught by some common obstacles (that we still face today). Paul tells Timothy to avoid worthless and foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior. Many of us, in our journey for a thriving life, get sidelined by investing it foolish conversations, gossip, political opinion, conspiracy speculation, prideful exhortation, which leads to critical responses, judgmental attitude, and a selfish lifestyle. Most of us could list examples of people in our lives who have drifted into being a different person over the last couple of years. They went from a trusted, compassionate person to someone who is defined by opinions and what they are against. As a culture we have become known for our loud, deeply convicted opinions and many of those (on all sides of a debate) have been proven to be foolish and rooted in half truths or even made up myths. Overall as a culture we have pushed pause on working hard to know truth and thinking before we speak (or text, type, post) and I believe we are illustrating how foolish and counter productive we have become.
What could change in our culture if we became committed to working hard, working hard to pursue truth, compassion, understanding, and love? What would change in my life if I commit to work hard at being a daily pursuer of truth and then sharing the love and compassion I find in that truth?