The Sandcastle Theory
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
When I was a kid, I always loved the days we got to go down the shore. That’s Jersey talk for going to the beach. I was always one of those kids that had to be doing something though. I never understood why you’d go to just lay out or read a book, that’s just silly. After I had spent hours running in and out of the water, seeing how far off shore I could swim without getting yelled at by a lifeguard, and flying my kite for all of five minutes, it was time for the main event...sandcastle building. You always had to make sure the tide was just right to get the perfect spot along the shore. Far enough in that your sand was wet but not so far that the tide would come in and wash out your newly established kingdom before you even finished. I’m sure it’s a site we’ve all seen, or even participated in. I have vivid memories of these wonderful times but there’s one part in particular that mars every memory. My inability to pick the right spot. Without fail, I’d find myself building more, running to protect my castle, building walls in defense, digging deep holes to absorb the blow of fresh waves, even laying my own body down as a barricade. As I’d continue to dig out the saturated atlantic sand, the hole would fill in behind each swipe. It was hopeless. The integrity of my structure was gone, if it was ever really there. With each passing handful of sheer desperation, the new found liquid state of sand would pour back in. No matter how quickly I worked, the void I would carve from the earth would replace itself faster.
As Paul wrote this morning’s passage, I believe he understood this concept. Maybe he’s even building a sand castle as he writes. But life is oddly enough the same as the sand too close to the water; if you remove one thing, one scoop of sand, something else will take its place. Before our passage picks up in verse 11, Paul writes a warning of things to steer clear from. He’s warning Timothy, and the subsequent readers, to rid his life of such evil things. But stopping there wouldn’t be enough. Paul understands the sandcastle theory: “When one object is removed, another will take its place.”
You’ve seen it everywhere in life. If you, or anyone you know, has ever decided to kick sweets from their diet, what was more important than removing the sweets was replacing it with something healthy. If you don’t have healthy foods on hand, the clock will strike midnight, you will wake up for your snack, and you will fill your stomach with whatever is on hand. Or maybe it was too much time watching tv. If you decide to put down the remote but don’t pick up a book or some other new hobby...you’re just going to pick up your phone to scroll or watch there. Or maybe it’s a drug or alcohol problem. You’re already using to try to fill one void, but if you don’t fill the space this destructive habit left it will surely pour itself back in.
Paul wants better for us. God wants better for us. He knows that we can’t simply hold back the walls of our sinful nature by our own strength. We need to refill this new space with Christ, by his power, with his love. We must “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” So today, as you reflect on your own life, the sinful habits you seek to end, or maybe even just neutral habits that have no real benefit, seek to fill that time with Christ. With what biblical practice will you begin? Which new discipline will you implement? How will you fill this new space with God?
