1 Timothy: Love From a Pure Heart, a Good Conscience, and Sincere FaithSample

There is so much background we could get into, and it is important, but in short, people in Ephesus, where Timothy was, had a certain way of doing things. Now, as Christians, they are trying to learn how to worship the God of the Bible. This is true for all of us. We all have a background, a place we came from, a way we knew to do things, or a faith we had. Our background and history shape what we bring to worship when we come to Jesus.

Paul tells Timothy that people should avoid false doctrines or teachings. They should not focus on myths or endless genealogies. We can think that was something they dealt with, and it has no bearing on us, but what did you bring to your relationship with Jesus? Maybe you did not bring myths or endless genealogies, but did you bring superstition, a false idea of who God is, or a different faith? The easy thing to do is to combine this. The technical term is syncretism - the combining of two belief systems. In non-technical terms, that’s a no-no. We do this whether we want to or not. It's natural. Our brains fill in the gaps and try to make things easy for us. But when we’re aware of this tendency, we can be intentional about resisting it. We can submit our thoughts and habits to Jesus and align them with His Word. Romans 12:2 urges us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. That means asking hard questions. It means recognizing that while some ways of thinking may have served us before, they may no longer be valid now that Christ is Lord.

The Christian faith is not one of mindlessness but of mindfulness. We are not called to check our brains at the door when we come to Jesus. Instead, we bring our thoughts, ideas, and questions to Him and let Him evaluate their truth and helpfulness. Who people worship and how they worship is important to know because it tells us a lot about people. Who we are and how we worship is important because it tells us what we really think about God.

Today, instead of just going through the religious motions, ask yourself: Who is God, and am I acting on that belief?