Hardships
Leadership in Context with Keith Tucci
Episode 068
In 2 Timothy, Paul was writing his last testament to Timothy; he talks about the hardships that Timothy is choosing to face.
2 Timothy 2:3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
Suffer Hardship with Me
The word suffer in this passage is a compounded word meaning to be together in bad or wicked circumstances with suffering. The invitation here is more than just identification. It is more than being sympathetic or moved or touched. It is literally being in the same plane as what is going on.
Paul is talking to Timothy about understanding participation in suffering, participation in hardship.
2 Timothy 1:15-18 You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.
2 Timothy 2:1-3 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
Suffering is when you do something or when you don’t do something.
Hardship is when you choose that road.
When you are walking in hardship, you are choosing the path that you are walking in, choosing a path with known obstacles. When suffering comes along, sometimes you are suffering because things have gone sideways; it’s not a path you would have chosen.
Paul is talking to Timothy about not just identifying with the fact that people have rejected him, but understanding that if Timothy is going to follow Paul, he will follow him in rejection. Paul didn’t want Timothy to feel bad for him or sympathize or empathize with him, but Timothy had to own the fact that the path he had chosen will have hardship.
1 Corinthians 12:26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
The word suffer is used twice in this passage. The first time it is used is PSHO. The second time it is used is SYMPSHO. This is where we get our English word sympathy. If a guy hits his hand with a hammer, he has PSHO. If we watch that happen, we have SYMPSHO. We identify with the pain.
In contrast, what Paul is talking about in 2 Timothy 2 is not about merely identifying and sympathizing. He is talking about committing yourself to the same pain. An invitation, a participation, an obligation. Paul is telling Timothy that he has chosen this path and needs to know the hardships he has signed up for.
When you are in covenant relationship with someone, they don’t just identify with you, but they jump in the boat and experience those same hardships WITH you.
Join us next week as Keith Tucci continues to put leadership truth in the context of the local church. And as always, please like, share, rate/review, and invite others to listen. See you next week!
