A 52 Word Journey for Bible Study in 2014: Words 19 and 20: Eager and Sincere

In January, I began a series of blog posts summarizing what I'm calling my 52 word journey of Bible study. I'm taking one word from Scripture a week and studying it as part of my personal Bible study. As a means of helping to organize my jumbled notes (and often equally jumbled mind!), I'm sharing my journey of study on my blog. Over the last two weeks, I've studied the words eager and sincere.

 Eager

There are a number of Hebrew and Greek words in the Bible that are translated into the NIV as eager. It seems, though, that Greek or Hebrew words translated fall into one of two specific uses of eager: 1) to be hasty 2) to be zealous. Generally speaking, when eagerness is used to represent being hasty it is used in a pejorative context; when it is used to represent being zealous it is in a positive context. The concept of being hasty (eager), in both the old and new testaments, is used often regarding the pursuit of money:

• Proverbs 28:20, 22-"A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished...A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware of the poverty that awaits him"
• 1 Timothy 6:10- "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs"

More specifically, the Greek word used in 1 Timothy 6, oregō, means " to stretch one's self out in order to touch or to grasp something, to reach after or desire something". I can't help but think of Smeagol/Gollum in the Lord of the Rings and his "eagerness" for the ring ( warning: this scene is somewhat graphic):

 

  Contrast that with the use of the word eager when it is implying spiritual zeal (making a clear distinction between appropriate zeal and overbearing zealotry). This manifestation of eagerness is noted multiple times in the Bible:

• 2 Chronicles 15:15- "All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side."
• Psalm 78: 34-"Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again."
• Titus 2:14-" who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."
• 1 Peter 3: 13-"Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?"

Eagerness is an attitude, but what we direct our eagerness towards, be it ourselves and money or doing good and serving God, is crucial.

Sincere

The use of the word sincere in the Bible seems to be focused in what sincerity is not--it is not hypocritical and it is not feigned. Interestingly, other versions use the phrase "without hypocrisy" or similar phrasing in place of sincere. There are many aspects of how we lives where sincerity is key:

• in our love (Romans 12:9, 2 Corinthians 6:6, 1 Peter 1:22)
• in our devotion (2 Corinthians 11:3)
• faith (1 Timothy 1:5)

Sincerity and eagerness are crucial aspects of how we live out our lives because they are attitudinal compasses. They guide us--both in attitude and action.

 Previous posts:

 Introduction to the 52 Word Journey
 Words 1 and 2: Confidence and Peace
 Words 3 and 4: Perseverance and Works
Words 5 and 6: Humility and Compassion
Words 7 and 8: Kindness and Faithfulness
Words 9 and 10: Goodness and Pride
Words 11 and 12: Self-Control and Self-Discipline
Words 13 and 14: Joy and Gluttony
Words 15 and 16: Submission and Persecution
Words 17 and 18: Hospitality and Perfect

A 52 Word Journey for Bible Study in 2014: Words 17 and 18: Hospitality and Perfect

In January, I began a series of blog posts summarizing what I'm calling my 52 word journey of Bible study. I'm taking one word from Scripture a week and studying it as part of my personal Bible study. As a means of helping to organize my jumbled notes (and often equally jumbled mind!), I'm sharing my journey of study on my blog. Over the last two weeks, I've studied the words/concepts of hospitality and perfection.

Hospitality

The words hospitality or hospitable are mentioned in the Bible fewer than 10 times and only in the New Testament. The word in Greek that is translated to hospitality it s philoxenia, which means lover of strangers. Despite being mentioned only a few times in the Bible, it is an important concept mentioned by Paul, Peter, John, Luke, and the writer of the Hebrews. In both 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:8, Paul notes it as a qualification for elders. It is also "commanded" multiple times:

• Romans 12:13-practice hospitality
• Hebrews 3:2-don't forget to show hospitality
• 1 Peter 4:9-offer hospitality without grumbling
• 3 John 1:8- show hospitality to work together in the truth

The 3 John passage is a key point. Hospitality allows Christians to work together in the church--both through hospitality shown to other Christians and to those outside the church.

Earlier this year, I read a book by Rosaria Butterfield called The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. Butterfield was formerly an atheist, lesbian, women's studies professor at Syracuse who converted to Christianity. Her path to accepting Christ was a long and winding one, but she noted in her book that the genuine hospitality of the people who shared Christ had a big impact on her. It was a hospitality akin to the hospitality that she experienced and lived it in her own life within the community of like-minded individuals she engaged with as a liberal academic. Hospitality is just as much about inviting people into your life as it is about inviting people into your home, and genuine hospitality can have a profound impact.

Perfect

The world "perfect" is probably one of the most frustrating and misconstrued words in the English language. We have our own preconceived notions of perfection that are, more often than not, unattainable. We often think of perfection in the context of the attributes we like, not the attributes we have. The word "perfect" in the original Hebrew or Greek in the Bible usually means something more along the lines of "complete", "sound", or " whole".

Much of the Bible's use of the word "perfect" relates to who God is or the completeness of His character.  In the Old Testament, aspects and workings of God are called perfect:

• His works (Deuteronomy 32:4)
• His way (2 Samuel 22:31 and Psalm 18:30)
• His law (Psalm 19:7)
• His faithfulness (Isaiah 25:1)
• His beauty (Psalm 50:2)

God's perfection and the perfection of  His character is also highlighted in the New Testament:

• His will (Romans 12:2)
• His power over our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)
• His gifts (James 1:17)
• His law (James 1:25)
• His love that drives out fear (I John 4:8)

You might be thinking, "thanks, Captain Obvious, of course God is perfect. What about us?". The book of Hebrews especially talks about how we are perfect (complete) because of God. Particularly, chapter 10 verse 14 which says that we're perfect by His sacrifice.

Thinking about perfection with the understanding of its true meaning,completeness, I can't help but think of the saccharin sweet line from the movie Jerry Maguire:
 

 To be sure, that line may be sweet (even in a vomit inducing manner, but I'm not a particularly mushy person) but no person every completes us...or makes us perfect. God is the only one who can do that. We're whole because of Him. We're perfect because of Him. Whatever we think we lack, with our incomplete understanding of true perfection, is really what completes us because of His sacrifice. We were created in His image. Therefore, we are the image of perfection.

Previous posts:

 Introduction to the 52 Word Journey

 Words 1 and 2: Confidence and Peace

 Words 3 and 4: Perseverance and Works

Words 5 and 6: Humility and Compassion

Words 7 and 8: Kindness and Faithfulness

Words 9 and 10: Goodness and Pride

Words 11 and 12: Self-Control and Self-Discipline

Words 13 and 14: Joy and Gluttony

Words 15 and 16: Submission and Persecution