Daily Dose of Hope

April 24, 2026

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Help us be productive members of your Kingdom. I know we fall short. I know we mess up. Call us, let us hear your voice, and we will respond. We will say yes. Give us the courage and boldness to be the people you called us to be. We love you, Lord. In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope daily Bible reading plan. We are currently walking through the letters of Paul and today, we are finishing our eleventh letter, I Timothy.

Today's reading is 1 Timothy 6. As we close Paul's first letter to Timothy, we find more advice reflecting the time, place, and culture of Paul and Timothy, specifically regarding slaves having respect for their masters. Paul's words in NO WAY justify or encourage slavery. Slavery was certainly a reality in the Roman Empire (scholars estimate possibly a third of all people living at the time were slaves). People sold themselves and their families into slavery simply to have access to food. It was an ugly existence. But throughout Scripture, including Paul's letters, there is much talk of freedom and equality in Christ. While Paul was pretty revolutionary in many of his teachings, as far as we know, he didn't tackle the institution of slavery. He did try to create parameters around it, however, but his primary objective was to spread the Good News of Christ. I'm grateful for the many Christ-followers who came hundreds of years after Paul and did make a stand against the institution of slavery. Their courage and determination also came from their faith in Jesus and they used Jesus' teachings and also many of Paul's writings to oppose the ownership of other humans.

Slavery is still a reality around the globe. The Global Slavery Index estimates that over 40.3 million people are currently trapped in modern day slavery, the vast majority being women and children. (globalslaveryindex.org) This includes what we typically think of as human trafficking but includes forced labor around the world, including in many of our supply chains. It is a multi-billion-dollar industry. As Christ-followers, we should be actively working against human trafficking and other kinds of slavery. Slave owners and human traffickers prey especially on the poor and vulnerable. Jesus clearly taught and demonstrated that every single human life has value. He lifted the status of women and children and demonstrated extraordinary love toward the poor and oppressed. Paul wrote in Galatians 3:28, There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Paul closes the letter with another warning about false teachers. Anyone who teaches something contrary to Jesus, then they are "conceited and understand nothing." Those are Paul's words. He also says to beware of people who encourage conflict and quarrels, or those who are overly interested in financial gain.

And then there is a final charge to Timothy. He wants Timothy to focus on righteousness and encourage others to do so as well. Again, Paul emphasizes that Timothy command those who are rich to not be arrogant and to put their trust in what has eternal value.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki