Thought for Thursday
Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after. 1 Timothy 5:24
During my years as a court reporter, I encountered an unusual case of a man who had been stealing things from his neighbours for years. There had been no secret about it; the man was a drunk who openly took the stolen items to various pawn shops to get money for his drinking habit. But nobody could ever catch him taking the items that he pawned. Whenever he was outside, or walking down the street, angry neighbours would hurl insults and accusations at him. He was the most hated man in the community. Even his wife would rail at him and take sides with the neighbours in their angry outbursts. She would also visit the neighbours to apologize for him, and to make token offers of restitution. Finally, the man was arrested and charged with stealing some jewellery from one of the homes nearby. Police nabbed him when he tried to pawn the items. In court, he pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to a term in jail. But something strange happened: in his neighbourhood, things continued to go missing. The police sent a detective to investigate, and he set a trap to test his theory. He was right, his trap caught the man’s wife. She had gained the trust of the neighbours, and was able to steal all those items while everybody was watching her husband. Those two people are represented in today’s text.
In the context, Paul is reminding Timothy to be careful when assigning responsibility in the Assembly. And in our text, he is pointing out that some people automatically are disqualified from service because of their behaviour. But with other people, their misbehaviour is not always apparent at the time. So wisdom is needed in detecting character flaws that will lead to problems down the road. What is true in Assembly life is also true in the rest of our lives. We need to be aware that some people are not all that they seem, at least not at first.
As we look at the people around us, we make judgments every day. For some, it is easy to see their faults and flaws. They stand out as troublemakers, as criminals, as obnoxious and undesirable people. Because of their obvious badness, we have no difficulty in avoiding them, and in recognizing that they are due for punishment. For some others, we have learned by experience that they are trustworthy and valuable members of our circle of friends. Our faith in them is well founded and secure. But there is a third group of people who take on the appearance of the trusted folks. Outwardly they are honest and responsible. Because they are friendly, we enjoy their company and welcome them into our lives and homes. But behind our back, these folks scheme to take advantage of us with lies and stealing. In many cases, it is not until after they have wronged us that we realise that they are just as bad as the first group. We can watch out for these people, but we can never avoid them all the time. Sadly, they serve to remind us that sinners are sinners, regardless of whether they are sinners openly or behind closed doors. -Jim MacIntosh