Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (2 Tim 4:2)
Nothing that happens out of season wins compliments. So Paul urges Timothy to preach not idly and to no purpose, but to consider every time suited to it. It was his own practice in prison, at sea, at table. The events in Philippi, in Troas, and at sea testify to this. The wise surgeon does this, too. They operate on the hidden problem first, and use the harsher remedies, and only then apply the milder ones. So reprove is like the surgery, rebuke is like the more concentrated remedies, and exhortation like the milder ones.
Nothing that happens out of season wins compliments. So Paul urges Timothy to preach not idly and to no purpose, but to consider every time suited to it. It was his own practice in prison, at sea, at table. The events in Philippi, in Troas, and at sea testify to this. The wise surgeon does this, too. They operate on the hidden problem first, and use the harsher remedies, and only then apply the milder ones. So reprove is like the surgery, rebuke is like the more concentrated remedies, and exhortation like the milder ones.
Theodoret of Cyrus, “The Second Letter to Timothy”
3 comments:
That's the motto of the Coast Guard.
When I was deciding the title, Always Prepared seemed fitting, so I used Google translate for the Latin. Before posting, I did more checking and discovered the phrase was used by the USCG. I considered changing the title, but that captured the content.
Oh, it's a great title. But I thought I'd let you know it was a motto. I learned the USCG song when I was in high school and learned the songs of all the service - high school being the period of time, not that I learned them there! My niece is a Coastie.
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