Take Heed to Yourself and to the Teaching
Take Heed to Yourself and to the Teaching
Who said this statement:
“Take heed to yourself and to the teaching; continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:16)?
It was said by Saint Paul the great apostle, who experienced ministry in its deepest dimensions and lived the spiritual life in its fullest depth. In service he labored more than all the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:10), and in spirituality he was caught up to the third heaven, to Paradise (2 Corinthians 12:2, 4).
This Paul writes to his disciple Timothy, the bishop of Ephesus—in whom dwelt sincere faith, first in his family through his mother and grandmother, and who from childhood knew the Holy Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15). He writes to him saying: “Take heed to yourself and to the teaching; continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:16).
Although Timothy, as a bishop, was surrounded by immense burdens and responsibilities—especially in a city like Ephesus, where ministry was not easy (for Saint Paul himself said, “I fought with beasts at Ephesus” – 1 Corinthians 15:32)—yet despite all the urgent responsibilities of service, his teacher tells him first: “Take heed to yourself.”
He says, “Take heed to yourself” before the teaching, and he considers this essential for his own salvation and for the salvation of others:
“For in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.”
This is a fundamental rule presented by the apostle to everyone, whether servants or ordinary believers. Yet it touches servants more deeply. Why?
Why take heed to yourself?
Because there are many servants who reached great levels of fame, activity, and influence. They became well-known names—yet they forgot themselves and were lost.
They serve outwardly, but inwardly they are empty.
Some of these servants used to care for themselves spiritually before entering service. But once they began serving, spiritual lukewarmness crept into their hearts. They imagined that their mission had become caring for others rather than themselves. Some even descended to a spiritual level far below that of their own children or disciples. To each of these, the apostle says: “Take heed to yourself.” Why?
“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
What benefit is there for servants who exhaust themselves in service, yet neglect their souls and lose the Kingdom? Some imagine, while serving, that they have gained Rachel—only to discover that it is Leah.
Many servants found that service introduced into their lives problems, conflicts, and judgments they had never experienced before. Truly, service itself is not the cause of such struggles, but one who does not watch himself may reach this state or something similar. He finds that his mistakes increase in service and that new sins emerge—sins he never struggled with before, or that were once hidden and then appeared.
Service may seem to lift him upward, while in reality he is descending—whether he realizes it or not.
As a servant grows in service, his responsibilities increase, his time is consumed, and he neglects his soul, failing to provide it with proper spiritual nourishment. Thus he gradually slips downward. If he is advised to step back from service to attend to himself, he feels deeply saddened, because service has become everything in his life—he cannot imagine living without it.
Such a servant needs to realize an essential truth:
What leads to God is not service, but a pure heart.
True service is not the one in which a person’s spirituality continually diminishes until it disappears. Such a person lives outwardly, forgetting the words: “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21),
imagining that the Kingdom exists outside himself, among people.
In the depths of service, Saint Paul the Apostle watched over his own soul and cared for its spiritual life. That is why he could say with complete honesty: “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).
How dangerous and painful this statement is—to be rejected by God despite preaching to others. Such a person becomes like a bridge that allows people to cross from one shore to another while remaining itself unmoved, never reaching the other side; or like church bells that call people to enter the sanctuary while never entering themselves.
Fear this phrase: “Lest I myself should become disqualified.”
Spiritual decline in service
Some servants’ spiritual lives take a pyramidal shape: they rise at first to a peak, then steadily decline.
Their time, attention, and emotions are no longer their own. Everything is poured into what they call “service,” while their personal spiritual life receives no time, no care, and no desire. Some imagine this is self-sacrifice.
Self-sacrifice is indeed a virtue—but sacrificing one’s spiritual life is sin and loss.
When John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30), he did not mean decreasing in spirituality or love for God. Rather, he meant decreasing in honor, role, and visibility. His spiritual life increased as he withdrew so that Christ might appear, take the helm of the Church, and receive the Bride. John increased precisely when he appeared to decrease—in humility, love for God, faith in Christ, and trust in His work.
Take heed to yourself.
If you find that your spiritual life is declining in the midst of service, take a stand to save yourself:
Do not cut from your spirituality to give to service, and do not abandon service for the sake of spirituality. Instead, cut from wasted time and worldly distractions, and dedicate that time to your spiritual life. Awaken from neglect and understand service correctly—it is not a whirlpool that spins you around until you no longer know where you are.
Examples of being lost in service
Under this heading, we present two types of examples: examples of people, and examples of mistakes.
The elder son in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) is a clear example. After many years of service, he refused to rejoice at his brother’s return. He protested, complained, and spoke to his father with criticism and resentment, saying:
“Lo, these many years I have been serving you… yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came…”
After so many years of service, he reached such a fallen state—self-centered, resentful, comparing himself to his brother, angry because his brother was in favor and joy while he himself was not in communion with the father.
How many servants live with the same feelings despite long years of service. To all of them, the apostle says: “Take heed to yourself.”
Solomon also fell in service, though he had once been filled with wisdom. He began with a marvelous spirit, performed great works, and God appeared to him twice—yet because he did not watch himself, he fell (1 Kings 11).
David, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord rested (1 Samuel 16), a man of prayer and psalms, also fell more than once when he did not watch himself as his service expanded—though he repented.
Demas, a prominent co-worker of Paul, fell and was lost because he did not watch himself (2 Timothy 4:10). Nicolaus, one of the seven deacons filled with the Holy Spirit, also fell.
Pride and domination
Among the most common pitfalls for a servant who does not watch himself is pride.
The spiritual servant preserves humility of heart and loves to learn continually. Yet some, as they grow, become proud, lose their spirit of discipleship, cling to their own opinions, and refuse guidance. They may ask for advice merely to hear an opinion, without any intention of following it.
Gradually, they move from learning to arguing, from discussion to opposition, from opposition to stubbornness, and from stubbornness to judgment and destruction of others. Some eventually reach a state of self-deification, presenting their thoughts as unquestionable doctrine, rejecting discussion, and reacting angrily to opposition—eventually imposing their opinions by force.
Is it not better for such a servant to watch himself first, to see where he stands and where he is heading?
Many servants, as they grow, become irritable and quick-tempered. Their rebukes increase, their anger intensifies, and they lose patience with others’ mistakes. Even correction becomes harsh and hurtful, lacking sensitivity. They lose meekness, humility, warmth, and kindness, replacing them with shouting, commands, and domination.
Such a person undoubtedly needs to hear: “Take heed to yourself.”
Church canons require that a bishop not be quick-tempered—and this is also the teaching of Scripture (Titus 1:7). The same applies to priests, deacons, and all servants.
How do you take heed to yourself?
- Keep eternity constantly in mind.
Eternal joy is gained only through purity of heart and deep communion with God. If you lose yourself, you lose everything; if you gain yourself, you gain everything. - Know that your life itself is teaching.
You are the lesson, the example, the living sermon. Children learn spirituality first from their parents. A godly wife becomes a living lesson to her husband. Servants teach more through their lives than through their words. - Sanctify yourself for the sake of others.
“For their sakes I sanctify Myself” (John 17:19). You cannot give from emptiness. Only one who is filled can overflow. - Seek spiritual fullness for its own joy, not merely to serve others.
Be filled with love, the Spirit, and the knowledge of God—“This is eternal life, that they may know You” (John 17:3). Read for your own spiritual nourishment, not merely to prepare lessons. - Watch your thoughts and God’s place within them.
Pause often to examine where your mind wanders and why. Remember the liturgical question: “Where are your minds?”—and strive for the honest answer: “They are with the Lord.” - Watch your actions and behavior.
Examine yourself honestly, without excuses or self-justification. As Saint Macarius the Great said: “Judge yourself, my brother, before they judge you.” - Watch your goals and methods.
Are your goals worldly—wealth, fame, authority—or is your sole aim union with God? Are your methods spiritual, or do they involve manipulation and error? - Watch your level:
Is it bodily, spiritual, or merely social? Know where you stand and how you practice the means of grace. - Watch your sins carefully.
Do not allow them to pass untreated. The spiritual person may fall, but he quickly repents, rises, and guards against repeating the fall. - Watch your spiritual growth.
The spiritual life is a journey toward perfection. Are you moving forward daily, standing still, or going backward? Is your growth deep and genuine—or merely external?
Take heed to yourself and to the teaching
Teaching is not formality, and service is not a job.
Faith is love passed from heart to heart, faith handed down from generation to generation, example transmitted from life to life, and the Kingdom of God spreading and growing. It is holy zeal igniting one heart and setting others aflame.
The spiritual servant is one who is united to God—“God is love”—and thus overflows with love toward God and people.
As for teaching, it must be sound, as Saint Paul said to Titus: “Speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1).
Let your teaching not be personal opinion, distorted thought, or invented doctrine. Let it be biblical, apostolic, patristic, complete, balanced, and nourishing. Avoid half-truths and the danger of isolating single verses. Let your teaching be attractive and life-giving, rejoiced in by your listeners “as one who finds great treasure” (Psalm 119).
What is the result?
“You will save yourself.”
Do not forget yourself while caring for others. You need salvation just as they do. Even Saint Timothy the bishop needed this exhortation. Work out your own salvation “with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12), and hear Saint Peter saying: “Conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear” (1 Peter 1:17).
Only then will you be able to save those who hear you—by sound teaching and by the living example of a life that watches itself.
This is the sound path every servant should follow. Whoever neglects himself and the teaching loses both himself and those entrusted to him.
Therefore:
“Take heed to yourself and to the teaching; continue in them.”
May your spirit remain aflame with divine love, passing that love on to others.
And until we meet again in a future issue, if the Lord’s grace wills and we live.
