QTVOTD: Are you distracted/a distraction?

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.” 1 Timothy 2:8-10 -> me: Today my reading was 1 Timothy 2:8-15.  For some people, this passage is very hard to read as it goes against everything our society and culture is trying to tell us right now.  For Timothy this part of Paul’s letter spoke right to the heart of what he was dealing with in Ephesus.  For us, in 2020, it has relevance as well.  Let me focus on what the Lord has been revealing to me as I have pondered this passage over the last couple of days.  The nitty gritty of what Paul is getting at is distractions.  Distractions from the power of the gospel and the power of the Christian witness to not only those inside the church but outside as well.  Paul starts out this section with “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling”.  Then he says a very important word -> ‘likewise’.  It is about focus (lowering the distractions around us) so that we can give all of our attention to the only One that matters – our Father in heaven through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Men are to lift holy hands without anger or quarreling and women are to not be distracted by focusing on their own appearance.  I also feel that another phrase from Paul is super important about his direction to women that we can all take away – “with modesty and self-control…with what is proper for women who profess godliness”.  What is proper for women who profess godliness?  It is the intentions of focus of the new creature they have become in the Lord.  What is proper becomes clear when we understand the role we have here on earth in light of a gospel that must get out before the end of the age comes.  Proper becomes clear when we throw away our wants and desires of the fleeting world in order to focus on the example and hope that is the Lord Jesus Christ.  Uber point -> Don’t be distraction (to yourself or others) in your worship of the One Who gave Himself for you, the One Who purchased you with the ultimate price.