Wastes of Time We Love (1 Timothy 4:6-10)

[6] If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. [7] Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; [8] for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. [9] The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. [10] For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. (ESV)

People love “silly, irreverent” myths. We are fascinated with strange stories, the more mysterious the better. I remember as a kid in the eighties, it seemed like all Christians were interested in were Satanists and occult conspiracies. We loved inventing all kinds of teachings about the evils of 4/4 rhythm and all the other ways you would surely open the doors of your heart to demonic influence.

These days we have become a bit less outlandish, but we still have our crazy theologies. Things like: true believers must have the “right” political leanings, the King James Bible is God’s divinely inspired translation, and Jesus wants all good believers to own a gun, lest the Nazis see a return to power.

The fact is that far too many Christians are consumed with far too many distractions in the name of faith. We need to recover a disciplined mind that focuses on the things that really matter. We need to become people obsessed with the Gospel. If you could spend all of your time meditating on the things God has done to redeem creation, why would you waste any of it speculating on the hierarchies of demonic realms?