Self Tackle-ization

I had the privilege of growing up in the Texas Panhandle where football is king. Every Friday night in the fall, the skies over that area are lit with the glow of lights over football stadiums from one end of the region to the other. In the Panhandle, football games are a city-wide event. To keep those few who are unable to get to the stadium informed, there is the local radio station up in the booth excitedly recounting the play-by-play. I heard a story about one such announcer who was describing a long run by one of the players who suddenly tripped and fell with no one anywhere around. In his excitement, the announcer declared that the runner was a “victim of self tackle-ization" (that’s with a long “I”).

1 Timothy 4 (NLT)
¹⁴Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecies spoken to you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. ¹⁵Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. ¹⁶Keep a close watch on yourself and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right, and God will save you and those who hear you.

Timothy was Paul’s protégé in every sense of the word. Paul starts this letter with the words, “¹This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Savior and by Christ Jesus our hope.  ²It is written to Timothy, my true child in the faith…..” By virtue of his part in sharing the Gospel with Timothy, Paul felt a responsibility to this young man, who by now had been ordained by the elders of the church to be a part of Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles. Even though Timothy was a partner in his ministry, Paul continued to fulfill his duties as mentor to the man in whom he obviously had great confidence.

Being a Christian in those times could be hazardous to your health. Imagine how people responded to one who actively worked at spreading the Gospel. First of all, you started with two strikes from the Jews in the area. First, you were teaching the truth of a new covenant that turned the theology of Judaism upside down. To make matters worse, you were associating with the unclean Gentiles. Speaking of the Gentiles, this message of one God flew in the face of all those whose status and income were based on the worship of idols. Every person who became a Christ-follower reduced their financial position. Timothy had his work cut out for him.

In this passage, Paul brings Timothy back to the beginning of his journey. As is still the custom in many churches, Timothy was ordained for the ministry. This process culminated with each of those who had already been ordained laying their hands on the head of the one being sent, and speaking a word of prayer in his ear. Paul tells Timothy to remember the words these elders spoke to him and to God. They are a gift to be combined with the other spiritual gifts God has given him, to empower him to do the work to which he has been called. “Pay attention to these matters.” Paul exhorts. “Throw yourself into your tasks.” In other words, keep on doing what God has called you to do.

As he closes this portion of his teaching, Paul gives Timothy instruction that every believer should heed. “Keep a close watch on yourself and on your teaching.” We have a responsibility to make sure that our motives and our message remains true to our Maker. If we do, God will take it from there. He is responsible for the increase.

Satan loves to see a child of God fall. That is one less witness that he has to worry about. If we keep our feet on the path and our message true to the Word, the victory will be ours. If we don’t, we run the risk of becoming a victim of "self tackle-ization."

We serve an awesome God!!!!!