Quiet and Peacable

 February 1, 2023

Have you ever thought about the connection between ordinary life and salvation? It’s there, although we usually miss it.

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,”

—I Timothy 2:1-6

In his first letter to his protégé Timothy, Paul makes the case for ordinary life as being foundational to salvation when he recommends prayers be offered for…“kings and those in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” Paul knew that though anarchy may drive many to their knees, they would not stay there long. We’ve observed this many times during great crises. Churches were filled immediately after 9-11. It seemed the entire nation was praying for Damar Hamlin after his near-fatal injury in the Bills-Bengals contest. In both cases, when the crisis was past, everything went back to normal. And for any who are “saved” in such times, there are perhaps scores who lose what little faith they had.

Crises provoke the realization of the need for salvation, but doesn’t provide the context in which it can grow. Paul says for that, we need a quiet and peaceable life, which is only possible in a politically stable environment. He makes his case by following up his desire for stability with, “this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” It is beneficial for the cause of salvation that life be stable.

Lest anyone think that stability or quiet and peaceable lives are the end-all and obtainable by political harmony, he clearly states that it is the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all, this man is the only mediator between God and us, and it is through his death on the cross that this is accomplished.

The fact remains that social stability is desirable for the Gospel, and that to this end we are told to pray for our leaders. God knows they need it! Too often, we do more complaining than praying. We criticize their character and policies, but fail to hold them before the Lord who alone can change their hearts. 

Do you pray for friends, neighbors, family members to come to Christ? Then pray also for our government leaders, lest we descend into a bureaucratic morass and a social anarchy that would be a hindrance to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.