But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. [1 Timothy 6:11-12 NASB]
The man of God will flee from such things as greed, false teaching, and all of the evils that go with them. Instead, we are to pursue the things of the Spirit of God.
There are innumerable books on the subject of how to be a success in the world. Usually, the first principle in these books is "setting goals". It is a simple, yet profound, principle. If you are going to achieve something, you have to know what it is that you want to achieve. A common proverb is, "if you aim for nothing, that's what you will get."
In business, you may set a goal to own your own business, or to increase sales volume by 30%, or to become a CEO.
Some churches are run the same way. I was once involved in a church that hired a business manager to manage the church. As a successful businessman, he had made several companies grow, and so he applied the same principles to running a church. Set a goal for so many new members each quarter. Maximize profit, and minimize expenses. The church fell apart, in part because they had set worldly goals instead of spiritual goals. They placed the welfare of the institutional church over the welfare of the people. Other abuses followed, and sin was allowed dominion in the leadership. Paul said;
If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. [1 Timothy 6:3-5 NASB]
We are told to fight the good fight. Paul liked to use sports metaphors. He said;
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. [1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NASB]
In other words, set a goal for your spiritual life, and then live it in such a way as to achieve that goal. And what should be our goal? In today's passage Paul said;
Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. [1 Timothy 6:11 NASB]
This is reminiscent of the fruit of the spirit;
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. [Galatians 5:22-23 NASB]
Note that it is "fruit of the Spirit", singular; and not "fruits of the Spirit", plural.
If you feel like you need more joy in you life, don't set a goal to be more joyful. Don't say, "I'm doing well with all the fruits except patience. I need to work on patience." That's not how it works.
If you want to live out the attributes of a godly person, seek God. If you want all of the fruit of the Spirit, seek God.
These things are not character traits that we need to work on improving, they are signposts indicating our relationship to God through His Spirit. So then, if you are lacking in love, faith, patience, or any other thing, then the solution is to draw closer to God in prayer. Spend intimate time alone with Him. Don't settle for just a quick prayer in the morning, or the passing prayer in your car or at work. Set aside time to get alone with God.
The more time you spend with Him, the more He will transform you into His image, and these attributes you seek will flow freely from your spirit.
Father, I pray that, by Your grace, You will keep me free from greed and wickedness, and lead me in the paths of righteousness.
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