Guard and Protect Your Soul

We spend a great deal of time making sure our investments and financial security are protected. We have locks on our doors and passwords on our devices. We will stop at almost nothing to protect our money. We do the same for our families and friends. It seems the only thing we do not protect our soul.

Timothy, my son, charge the rich in this world not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches but on God who richly furnishes us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good deeds, liberal and generous, thus laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life which is life indeed. O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the godless chatter and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge, for by professing it some have missed the mark as regards the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.

1^st Timothy 6.17-21

Then we open today’s reading from Saint Paul and find out that we are chasing all the wrong things. Saint Paul warned Timothy, and by default he warns us, to avoid chasing the things of this world. Instead, we should be chasing God. He will make sure we have what we need. If we have more, then we are called to share it with those who don’t.

“O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you.” Saint Paul wasn’t talking about investment portfolios or gold. He was talking about faith. Instead of making every effort to protect our money, we need to be putting time into protecting our faith.

With more than 45,000 Christian denominations in the world we are easily confused about Saint Paul’s advice today. It is easy to think that God will richly bless us financially if we are not haughty but believe in Him. The only problem is, the life that God promises us isn’t here. It is with Him in Heaven.

First, though, we must be rich in good deeds, liberal and generous TO AND FOR OTHERS. The future treasures are not our investments, but our soul’s future with God in Heaven. We don’t need money there. We need love there. We don’t need passwords there. We need to confess our love for Him.

I invite you to take time today and reflect on your priorities this year. When was the last time you took steps to protect your soul from false teachings? When was the last time you considered your future in heaven when setting goals?

Where are the false teachings to be found? While there are dangers within the Church, as there always have been, I suggest you begin with ignoring the teachings of those so-called pastors outside the Church. The Holy Spirit has been guiding the Church since Christ and the Holy Apostles. Our ‘system’ was created to remain loyal to the teachings of the Holy Apostles, whom Christ promised would be guided into all the truth by the Holy Spirit.

If you hear something that makes you think, ask your spiritual father if the Church agrees or disagrees. It is possible to find truth outside the Church, just as it is possible to find false teachings in the Church. Over time the false teachings have been filtered out of the Church because of our ‘system’.

There is no such ‘system’ outside the Church to remain loyal to the truth. It is IN the Church that the truth is protected. The Church has the ‘system’. Now it time YOU get a ‘system’ to guard and protect your soul from false teachings. Your future depends upon it.