Hold the Line

I Timothy 1:18-19

18 Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.

Some of the best advice I have ever received is ‘to hold the line.’  I can attest that some of the worst decisions I have made are when I don’t hold the line and I let things slide. A common one that happens in just about every household is the staying up late line.  We all know we need to sleep and kids need to sleep.  But “It’s the weekend.” Or “I just want to watch this with you.”  “We have worked hard all week.” Whatever the excuse, we cave in.  Then we pay the consequences the next morning.  We  are grumpy, the kids won’t get up. We are out of rhythm and groggy to do anything.  We let things slide and then we pay the price.  It could be staying up too late, eating sugary foods, skipping exercise, missing our devotion.  Whatever it is, we don’t hold the line and the slide happens. 

In I Timothy 1:18-19, Paul reminds Timothy of his calling and the importance of holding the line.  Because Paul had experienced when others don’t hold the line, the consequences are grave: “Shipwrecking the faith.”  Paul gives some wise and godly advice to Timothy in this moment so that he can fight the battle well.  

1. Hold on to your faith

2. Hold a good conscience

Paul is wise to his mentor.  Life is hard.  It is easy to give into sin, sadness, anxiety, fear, failure, circumstances.  It is hard to hold the line with our faith. Sometimes we don’t have that closeness with God that we used to.  Sometimes it feels that God is quiet, absent or has forgotten us.  But if we hold onto our faith, we will stay strong in the hard times.  We will be able to fight the battle well.  Holding onto our faith is the anchor in the storms.  It keeps us steady and stable in the wind and the waves.  Our faith can not be taken from us.  While it can be shaken, if we hold to it no matter what the circumstances, we will hold fast and stand strong in the end.

A good conscience is Paul’s second piece of advice.  Holding on to a good conscience is imperative in the world we live in.  There are compromises and inconsistencies everywhere we look.  A good conscience is knowing you have done the best you can to do the right thing, with the right attitude, in the right way.  If I strive to keep my conscience clear in how I interact with others, how I treat them, in my business practice, how I interact with people at the store, restaurants.  If I have a good conscience about how I treat others and how I interact with the world, that too will help me fight the battle to the end, holding the line of truth and compassion.  

Paul’s challenge is not just to Timothy, but to all of us.  Holding the line consistently, not perfectly will result in a life well lived.  Evaluate how you are holding the line in your faith and in good conscience.  If Timothy needed to be reminded, I think we probably do too!