Word for Wednesday

I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. 1 Timothy 5:21

None of the other children in our little one-room school liked Janie very much, although some of the other girls found it advantageous to hang around with her on occasion. It’s not that there was anything wrong with Janie herself, it was that she had somehow become identified as the ‘teacher’s pet’. The teacher fawned over her and granted her every wish. In any project that the school undertook, Janie was always given the leading role, regardless of whether she was qualified. In any dispute in which she was involved, the teacher always took her side and accepted her word as the truth. Janie always received the highest marks in the tests we wrote and the teacher made excuses for the mistakes she made. The teacher’s attitude of partiality toward Janie was totally unfair to the rest of us, and we despised them both for it. We could understand why today’s text makes such a point of condemning the preferring of one before another.

Our text comes in the midst of Paul’s guidance to Timothy in the handling of matters in the Assembly in Ephesus. He has already discussed how various members of the Assembly are to be treated, including the elders, the aged women, and the younger men and women. As an apostolic designate, Timothy had considerable influence in the affairs of that young Assembly. He had the authority to make decisions and selections regarding various members of the group. Such authority does not rest with any one man today, but is the responsibility of the Assembly oversight. There were undoubtedly people in Ephesus who got along better with Timothy than others did, and people whose company he would enjoy more than others. But Paul’s wise words remind him that it would be totally unfair – and ungodly – to make decisions based on personal preferences and personalities. Such decisions would do more damage to the fellowship than almost anything else would do.

Assembly leaders today can take this text to heart. If they can avoid partiality, they can avoid hard feelings among Assembly members, and they will help to preserve the respect that Assembly members should have for them. It is often difficult to be totally fair, especially when family members are involved. And many Assemblies have run into difficulties in this very matter. Too many times, people with gift and ability are passed over in favour of someone who is a favourite of an elder. Hard feelings arise at the unfairness of it. But Paul makes it clear that avoiding partiality is not just a suggestion of his, but a very serious charge before God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the angels.

We can see the wisdom of Paul’s charge regarding partiality. May God preserve us from this error. -Jim MacIntosh

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