"Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine;

continue in them: for in doing this

thou shalt both save thyself,

and them that hear thee”—I Timothy 4:16.

Take Heed unto thyself.  We are impressed more and more with the inconsistency of the ‘old man’.  He will take heed so often to the other fellow, watch him and admonish him, when he needs watching himself.  Paul knew that the Timothys should be warned themselves.  They are not immune to temptation, but rather need constant surveillance and judgment of their own conduct.  “The husbandman must first be partaker of the fruits”  before he can give others instruction.

How many will say, ‘Take the victory,’ when they are not taking the victory themselves.  Or they will say, ‘O his grace is sufficient,’ when they are not availing themselves of that grace.  Or they may say, ‘I will pray for you,’ when they ought to be praying for themselves.

Let us heed Paul’s admonition, “Take heed unto thyself,” and then we may effectually take heed to others and help them in their temptation and trial.