1 TimothyChapter 6

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¹All who are under the yoke of slavery should think of their masters as worthy of full respect. Then no one will speak badly of God's name and our teaching. ²Some slaves have masters who are believers. They should not show those masters less respect because they are brothers. Instead, they should serve them even better. That is because the ones getting their good service are believers whom they love. Teach these things and urge people to do them. ³Someone may teach something different. He may not agree with the true words of our Lord Jesus Christ. He may not agree with teaching that leads to a godly life. ⁴If so, he is proud and understands nothing. Instead, he has a sick love of arguments and fights about words. These lead to jealousy, fighting, hurtful talk, and evil suspicions. ⁵They also lead to constant quarrels between people whose minds are rotten. These people have lost the truth. They think being godly is a way to get rich. ⁶Of course, being godly and content is a great way to be rich. ⁷We brought nothing into the world. So we can't take anything out of it. ⁸But if we have food and clothes, we will be happy with those. ⁹But people who want to be rich fall into temptation. They get caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires. These desires drag them down into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people have wanted money so much that they have wandered from the faith. They have stabbed themselves with many sorrows. ¹¹But you, man of God, run away from all this. Chase after what is right and a godly life. Chase after faith, love, the strength to keep going, and gentleness. ¹²Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life you were called to. You were called when you spoke up well about your faith in front of many witnesses. ¹³God gives life to everything. Christ Jesus spoke up well and told the truth in front of Pontius Pilate. In front of them both, I give you this command: ¹⁴Keep this command without a spot or a fault until our Lord Jesus Christ appears. ¹⁵God will make that happen in his own time. He is the blessed and only Ruler. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. ¹⁶He is the only one who can never die. He lives in light that no one can come near. No one has ever seen him, and no one can see him. May honor and power be his forever! Amen. ¹⁷Command those who are rich in this world not to be proud. Tell them not to put their hope in riches, which are not sure. Tell them to hope in God instead. He richly gives us everything to enjoy. ¹⁸Command them to do good and to be rich in good deeds. Tell them to give freely and be ready to share. ¹⁹In this way they will store up treasure for themselves. It will be a strong base for the future. Then they can take hold of the life that is truly life. ²⁰Timothy, guard what has been trusted to you. Stay away from empty, godless chatter. Stay away from the arguments of what some falsely call "knowledge." ²¹Some people have claimed to have it, and so they have wandered away from the faith. May grace be with you all.