When Life Spins Out of Control

“Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach” (1Tim 3:2).

Suddenly and without warning, your life feels like you’re in the cockpit of a fighter jet that’s lost power and tumbling out of the blue. The sky’s a blur. Nothing you try works. Lunch is headed back north. You’re in a dizzying death spiral headed straight toward the cold, hard earth. 

You don’t have to be a test pilot to know the feeling. It happens when you lose your job, lose your health, or lose a loved one. When life is spinning wildly out of control, what do you need the most? Maybe it’s not so much what but who. That’s just the time you need a godly leader to grab onto. Paul tells Timothy these are just the kind of folks who need to be leading the local church. They need to be “respectable, hospitable, able to teach” (v2). In other words, overseers must have their lives under control, have their front doors open, and be ready to provide critical instruction at just the right time.

Maybe you think dudes like Paul and Tim don’t know squat about an out of control life. Well, just pump your brakes and think again. As a matter of fact, the situation that led to this very letter we call 1 Timothy is just that. A team of spiritual con artists have infiltrated the Ephesian church and sent believers reeling wildly (1Tim 1:3-7). The apostle needs to get the church back to flying straight and level. There’s just one problem. He’s not there. He’s in Macedonia. So Paul calls on his spiritual son Tim to pastor the Ephesian church. Priority one: Find godly leaders focused on Jesus who will provide stability.

These men called overseers provide much needed vision for any local congregation. The apostle then gives Tim a list of qualities each leader must have (1Tim 3:2-7). At the top of the list, they must be “above reproach” (v2). Not just scandal-free but scandal-proof. Every item that follows is just a specific expression of what it means to lead a blameless life. A totally devoted one-lady’s man and 100% husband with clear head and clear eyes (v2). All great leadership traits especially when your church is hurtling out of the sky.

Paul continues and says to be on the look out for leaders who are “respectable” (v2). He uses the Greek word kosmios, which describes someone who’s well-behaved, orderly, modest, disciplined, honorable, or sensible. It literally means “well-arranged.” The term in the original language comes from the word kosmos, which describes how our Creator God has precisely hung every planet, star, moon, and comet exactly where He wants it to be in His universe and continues to watch over it.

This means an overseer does things in order and with a plan. There’s a point and purpose to what he does. His life isn’t in chaos. Let’s face it, if they can’t get their own lives straightened out, how in the world can they do the same in the church?

There’s no greater One with a plan than God Himself. Everything He does is for a reason. Wouldn’t you agree His plan for our salvation was a good idea? The Son of God had a purpose during His 33 years on the planet. He was completely focused on His mission of Calvary (Lk 9:51). He came to serve, seek, and save (Mt 20:28; Lk 19:10). Jesus is the God-Man with the plan. A plan to save you and me.

An elder should also be “hospitable” (v2). The word here (Gr. philoxenos) literally means  “loving (philo-) strangers (-xenos).” Remember Blanche DuBois from “A Streetcar Named Desire”? She knew all about folks who were hospitable. Blanche always relied on the kindness of strangers. It’s one thing to be nice to people you already know. It’s another to put yourself out there for those you don’t. Paul tells Titus to look for the same trait in elders (Titus 1:8).

Leaders must set the bar in hospitality. Opening your home to others allows them to take an up close and personal look at your life and spiritual character. But is there’s another important aspect to this. Their open hearts lead to an open home, especially for those in trouble. When you’re life is spiraling out of control, you need a place of peace. Shelter from the storm. Jesus calls every follower be that safe place for those in trouble (Rom 12:13; 1Pet 4:9). Hey, you never know when you might be inviting angels over for dinner (Heb 13:2). Amazing stuff happened when folks like Matthew (Mt 9:10-13), Mary and Martha (Lk 10:38-40), and Zaccheus (Lk 19:1-10) invited Christ over to their place.

Once again, there’s no one greater host than our gracious God. Just like we get our home ready for guests, He prepped paradise for Adam and Eve (Gen 1:1-25). The Creator then told our first parents they had access to absolutely everything in Eden, except for one tree and that’s another story altogether (Gen 1:26-31; 2:15-17). God personally invited Abram come live in “the land that I will show you” where He would bless his sandals off (Gen 12:1-3). Almighty God broke His people out of Egyptian slavery so they could enjoy rest in His Promised Land (Ex 6:4). They certainly didn’t deserve His overwhelming hospitality either (Ps 106:6-8; Ezek 20:8-9).

The New Testament is all about God throwing open His kingdom to non-Jews. Jesus brought supernatural peace not just to God’s chosen people but those on the outside looking in (Eph 2:17). Christ didn’t just invite us in, He made us members of the family (Eph 2:19)! Even now, our resurrected Savior is getting eternity ready for you and me (Jn 14:2-3). When we get there, He’s inviting us to the greatest party the universe has ever seen (Rev 19:9)! Jesus is all about hospitality and providing a place of peace and rest.

Meanwhile back in 1 Timothy, Paul writes that an overseer must not only have his life in order as well as warm and welcoming but also “able to teach” (v2). The word here (Gr. didaktikos) doesn’t just mean someone who wants to teach. He’s talking about a person who possesses the skills to teach. Remember, it was a team of unqualified false teachers that ignited this Ephesian dumpster fire in the first place (1Tim 1:3-7).

God’s Spirit gives some folks the teaching gift (Rom 12:7; 1Cor 12:28). Those gifted as teachers must work on honing their skills and abilities as ones “rightly handling the word of truth” (2Tim 2:15). Jesus’ kid brother warns fellow teachers “that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1). God provides pastors and elders as teachers to remind people of His truth in the middle of the storm. When storm surge of life makes landfall, we loose sight of who Jesus is and what He’s done. That’s when godly teachers should be at their best. Their instruction in God’s Word prepare us for the next time it happens. And there will be a next time!

Jesus is the greatest and most creative teacher who ever lived. He specialized in illustrations and analogies called parables. His lessons left his listeners’ jaws on the ground “for He was teaching them as One who had authority” (Mt 7:28-29). Even His enemies like Nicodemus could see it (Jn 3:2). While He was the greatest teacher, Jesus was SO much more than that! Over and over again, Christ taught that He is the ultimate Hero of history. He’s the Savior promised throughout Scripture (Jn 5:39). He’s the One His Dad had always promised to send (Lk 24:47). And Jesus calls you and me to be teachers too (Mt 28:19).

Christ calls overseers to be “respectable, hospitable, able to teach” (v2) because His followers need their leaders to be. They must have their life under control if they hope to bring the church under control. They must have open hearts, open homes, and open lives. They must be gifted and skilled in teaching God’s Word. These are the folks Jesus has positioned among us to look to when life spins out of control. Just to be clear, it’s not “if” but “when.” In “Let It Be,” the Beatles sang about where to turn when we find ourselves in times of trouble. Simon and Garfunkel walked “The Bridge over Troubled Water.” For the follower of Jesus, our pastors and elders are there to remind us of our Savior who is Rock of our salvation (Ps 18:2; 62:6)!