1 Timothy 5:23 – Water or Wine?

Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

Summary: Paul’s advice to Timothy about food provides surprising insights about righteousness before God.   

Throughout Paul’s letter to Timothy, we have presumed that the “Author behind the author” is God. What we mean by that is that the Bible is not just a collection of words and letters written by people about God, but rather that it is a collection of words curated by God specifically because they have meaning for all people throughout all time. 

Our passage for this meditation is a little different because it seems very personal. After all, Paul is writing to a particular person about a specific situation. Yet, if we look closely, we might find a gem of godly wisdom even in this mundane note from Paul to a friend. 

First of all, there is Paul’s concern for his friend. Paul and Timothy lived in a time when eating for pleasure was a rare event. Most of the time, eating was simply something you did to keep going. Without refrigeration, food tended to be “less than fresh,” and the Romans of the time commonly used a fermented fish sauce called “garum” to cover the taste of spoilage. 

I don’t mean to suggest it was all bad. Like us, Timothy would have enjoyed eggs, bread, and cheese. Dried meats and fish would be fairly common, as well as porridge made with grains. 

Perhaps the challenge for Timothy was seen in the prior verse where Paul writes, “Keep yourself pure.” Remember Paul’s instructions about elders “not being given to drunkenness” (1 Timothy 3:3) and “not fall[ing] into disgrace and into the devil’s trap” (1 Timothy 3:7).

We can imagine that this is not the first time Paul has mentioned these things to Timothy. 

Paul is telling Timothy to strike a balance. Purity is not an unforgiving master. She is a servant who helps us reflect God’s Light in the world. 

Timothy’s illnesses might have been a result of his diet or, judging by Paul’s comment, caused by the water. Who knows where the water came from and what was in it?

In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul makes a similar point when he writes:

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…” (Romans 14:17)

At the very least, Paul’s advice to his friend is a reminder of these words. Righteousness and eating and drinking are not always the same thing. 

Application: Relax in the Lord.  

Food for Thought: How are severe food restrictions and self-righteousness related?

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