LAY HANDS NO SUDDENLY

MEMORY VERSE: lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure, 1 Timothy 5:22

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Sam 2, 1 Cor 13, Ezek 11, John 12

Timothy was a young evangelist full of zeal. One thing with zeal is that it needs to be accompanied with knowledge. Proverbs 19:2 says zeal without knowledge is not good; a person who moves too quickly may go the wrong way. Paul (Timothy’s mentor) noticed that this young man was full of zeal. He observed that the young and inexperienced Timothy wanted to touch the world for Jesus; he observed that Timothy wanted to excel in the ministry; he noticed that this young man wanted to be a force to reckon with in his career so he wrote to him to warn him of certain things.

One of the things he warned him of is recorded in 1 Timothy 5:22 - lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins; keep thyself pure. Paul was warning Timothy to desist from acting on impulse. He was encouraging him to reflect on decisions before taking them. He was telling him to think twice before taking an action. Some mistakes define one’s life; some are almost impossible to correct; some can do damage to one’s career so he was telling this young man to think before acting or think before speaking. I pray you will never make such mistake in your life in Jesus name.

A wise man once said a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. A team is as strong as its weakest member. What Paul meant by lay hands no suddenly was know the people you put into positions in the church. Study people before considering them for any position within the ministry. Ask questions about them before ordaining them. Don’t just ordain a brother because of his zeal or a sister because of her gifts. Before ordaining people ensure they have integrity. How faithful are they in the payment of their tithes and vows. A fellow who can rob God of tithes can do and undo. What is their church attendance like? Not only that, how do they relate with other members of the church? Is the fellow a friendly person? Is he approachable? Is he discreet? What Paul was also telling his mentee his don’t form an opinion about people you have not met. Don’t judge people before personally meeting them. Don’t see sister A has a bad person because Sister B said so. Sister B could be saying Sister A is bad because she tried to borrow some money from her and Sister A refused because she is yet to pay the ones she borrowed in the past. Lastly Paul was telling his mentee to desist from making hasty judgment about people. Hear what people have to say first before making your mind on them.

ACTION POINT: Don’t ordain strangers