Whenever I read 1 Timothy 6:11-16 I can’t help but hear a rallying voice, the type of speech given in a movie right before they enter the final battle for the fate of the universe or something equally important. It just strikes me in that way. In a way, that’s what this section is. It’s written from a leader of the church to a member. Like how a leader tells his troops an inspiring thing before the battle. For Timothy and us, every day is a battle. Paul in verse 12 writes: “Fight the good fight of the faith.” Sounds pretty similar to me. So, let’s look at this through the lens of an inspiring speech given to us in our daily battles. I’m gonna go through two verses here.

Do your best here to think about this in an inspiring way. If you’re feeling ambitious, you could even speak it aloud. If you’re having trouble imagining it think about an actor in an intense scene, and try to channel that energy. Verse 11 reads: “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” Right here, Paul is writing about what we are to do. He calls us to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, and love. These are pretty straightforward things, but we all have room to improve on all accounts, so read each with the gravity they deserve.

In verse 16, Paul is talking about God here: “who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” In the idea of a rallying speech, I think this is the best way to end one for a Christian. It’s giving God the glory; it just feels right. We learn in the Lord’s Prayer that a fair portion of our prayers should be giving glory and praise to God. So, in this case, it seems right too. I also like that this verse ends with ‘amen’.

Let me close this out with a challenge. On days when you’re maybe a bit tired and are reading your Bible, envision in your mind it as a speech, an inspiring one. It might not work for every verse, but maybe it’ll give you the energy to focus a bit more on what you’re reading.