The Conduct of God’s Household
Paul says this to Timothy: "I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household," (1 Timothy 3:14-15)
As we saw yesterday, this is not about "behaving properly when you're in a church building". Paul was saying: live with a holy sense of God's presence among you and within you!
In the community of Christians, in the body of Christ, conduct yourself in a God-honouring way, because He is with you.
Behaving as Though God Is Present
I remember at school there were certain teachers that, when they walked into the class, you just stopped misbehaving! At my high school, we had Mrs Grobler. She scared the daylights out of us! She had these piercing eyes that just about popped out of her head, and she walked at the speed of light with her clipboard, and she was tough! When she walked into a class, the class went quiet! Because we knew, this was not somebody to mess with.
But here's the thing, it wasn't just that we were scared of her! In fact, when you got to know her in her classroom, she was not that scary. She was engaging and thoughtful and kind. But you knew that she was serious about you behaving well, and you did it out of respect for her.
Do you think we would behave differently if we kept a sacred sense of God's presence with us at all times? Knowing that He is engaging and thoughtful and kind, but also that He is powerful and serious?
Why "God Is Watching" Isn't the Right Motive
Shereen and I were watching a show the other day where the little kid was running for student council at his school, and the family knew he had no chance of getting it… He asks his mom if she thinks he can win, and his little sister pipes up and says, "Mom… God is watching!"
"God is watching" has often been a tactic used to coerce good behaviour, hasn't it?
Of course you know the old story of the burglar who breaks into a house one night and is searching for valuables when he hears a voice say "Jesus is watching you." He freezes, turns off his torch, and stays silent. When nothing else happens, he continues searching. Then he hears the voice again: "Jesus is watching you."
Eventually, he shines his torch around frantically and discovers the voice is coming from a parrot in a cage. Relieved, the burglar asks the parrot what its name is. The parrot replies, "Moses."
The burglar laughs and asks, "What kind of idiot names their parrot Moses?" The parrot responds: "The same kind of idiot who names their rottweiler Jesus!"
We don't conduct ourselves in the right way because Jesus is waiting to tear us apart like a rottweiler if we don't! That is the wrong motive.
The Right Motive for Godly Conduct
We conduct ourselves with grace and dignity, and love, and goodness, and kindness, and respect, because the One who is gracious and dignified and loving and good and kind and respectful has given us the great privilege of His living presence - and how we long to make Him smile!
In another letter Paul says this: "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ." (Philippians 1:27)
So today - not just "in church", but everywhere - in public, in private, with church people, with non-church people. Let us conduct ourselves in a manner that is worthy of the gospel
Why? Because we are His household, and He lives within us.
Paul urges believers to conduct themselves in a way that honours God's presence among them - not out of fear, but out of love for the One who dwells within us.