This is what I was looking at this last week. I thought I should share it with you. “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” 2 Tim.1:7
Paul is writing to Timothy about using his gifts and serving and so he is reminding him that the Spirit he has received is one of Love, Power and Self control. In Timothy’s case he was timid I think because he was young and sometimes intimidated by the older folks. He sounds to me like this young man by the name Elihu in the book of Job who was quiet for the first 31 chapters because he was intimidated by the older folks, though he had what those people needed to hear.
A true minister is one who represents God before the people and the people before God. That is why ministers like Timothy need love, power and Self-discipline. The idea is:
- You need to have love and burden for the people to be able to represent them before God.
- You need to have the power of God to be able to represent Him before the people.
- And you need to have a good dose of self-discipline to keep you from abusing the power.
This is a very important balance you need to keep for a fruitful and satisfying ministry. On one hand, it is so easy to slip into being the hard working minister with no love and burden for the people. On the other hand, it is also possible to be the mushy minister with no power and authority.
Balance is one of the golden keys in life,
The Cyber Evangelist |