The Good, The Bad, It All Comes Out
1 Timothy 5:24-25 NLT
24 Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgement. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later. 25 In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light.
This is an unusual chapter as Paul instructed Timothy on how to handle benevolence, charitable giving in the church. With no state-supported help, no social security or government programs, the care of widows, orphans, and the elderly was an individual and a church effort. Paul addresses the issue of widows and then moves on to other church and personal related items. Taking care of the teaching leaders, handling accusations against leaders, and not taking sides or showing favoritism.
And of course, we mustn't forget the drinking verse. In the south, where I was raised by parents who were strict non-drinkers, they didn't have "drink a little wine for your stomach's sake" on the refrigerator. When the subject was broached, the common response in the denomination I grew up in was "you don't have a stomach problem, and your name is not Timothy." Kind of a weak argument, but this comes under the category of minor importance.
Paul does add in our verses for today. Almost an "oh yeah, before I forget" vibe. Some people commit sins that are obvious, leading them to certain judgement, which can't be good. And some people commit sins that no one knows about …yet. But it's going to come out. And the same principle applies to the good deeds of some people. Some are obvious; we can see them. But some are not obvious, and even the secret ones will come to light. What I am not sure of is the timing. The good deeds done in secret will show up one day. Is that a day in heaven or a day down here on earth? Either way, they're coming.
This principle falls directly in line with the Biblical principle of sowing and reaping. Sow bad seed, reap a bad harvest. Sow good seeds and reap a good harvest. Not everything that happens to us is a result of the seeds we have sown. There is an enemy, Satan, and people who are prone to doing wrong things. That's a nice way of saying there are some crazy, demented people in the world. We live in a fallen world, and bad things do happen. But we don't have to up the odds of bad happening to us by planting bad seeds.
And on another note. People who do wrong, especially to us, we don't want them to get away with it. This is not a godly way of functioning but is often true. So Paul's inspired words to Timothy give us a sense of peace. What they have done will come out. The other side of that coin is that we can sometimes think no one sees when we do good. But God sees, and it will eventually be made known. Good or bad, it will all eventually come out.