Swerved

1 Timothy 1:5-7 "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm."

The end of the commandment, when it is all said and done, it all comes back down to love, to charity. Paul knew this, Timothy knew this. Paul's positive admonition here makes sense, it is what we would expect. However, the contrast that he draws is perhaps a less obvious admonition.

Where would someone be if they swerved away from love out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and true faith? I would probably say selfishness and pride. However, Paul points out that those who swerved ended up in vain janglings, trying to be teachers of the law though they did not understand it. This vain, empty talk is doing nothing to build up the church, nothing to win the lost, nothing to disciple believers.

I guess the lesson here is that sometimes we don't have to fall to the "hard opposite" of a Christian virtue in order to be missing the mark. Sometimes lack of effectiveness, vanity, rooted in pride, can result in us wasting time. Which is something our enemy loves to see.