TAKE HEED UNTO THYSELF!
Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. 1 Tim 4:16 KJV
Paul seems to be telling Timothy, “Son, YOU are the most important thing here. Take heed unto thyself. Your life first before the lessons you teach, take heed unto thyself. Your character first before your charisma, take heed unto thyself. Your doing comes before your doctrine, take heed unto thyself. In order to do good, the first and great effort must be to be good, take heed unto thyself. Action speaks louder than words, take heed unto thyself. If you are living water and preaching, fire, followers will live water, take heed unto thyself. A man’s own moral state is very much the measure of his moral convictions, take heed unto thyself. Your health is the health of your doctrine, take heed unto thyself. Don’t lose your life on the altar of service, take heed unto thyself. Don’t watch other people’s lives while your own is lost, take heed unto thyself. The life of a Christian or Christian minister does not consist in the abundance of miracles, deliverances, revelations and success in the ministry, take heed unto thyself. For the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you, take heed unto thyself…And take heed unto your teaching that it is consistent with wholesome words.
This was Paul’s own principle for life and ministry. Hear him in 1 Cor. 9:26-27: I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beats the air:But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Beloved, one of the things that we have to watch most closely is ourselves. This is the attitude that we must have towards ourselves!”Take heed to yourselves”—what you are allowing yourself to do; what you are getting involved in; who your friends are, how much time you are spending on this, that, and the other thing. How close is our relationship with God? That is what we must watch and take heed of.
The danger is that, if we do not “watch” ourselves—that is, continually take stock of our condition—both within and without, there is the possibility of being lost while we had hoped to be saved!
Take heed unto thyself…for in doing this thou shalt save thyself…