But you, man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness: Possibly, we have before us three pairings, the first pair being "righteousness" (dikaosun) and "godliness" (eusebeian). These encompass our total duty to God and man (Titus 2:12). Upon the righteousness and godliness of the man of God, he builds "faith" (pistin) and "love" (agapen). There are no spiritual graces more supreme than these. In them we draw the confidence to trust in God to sustain life and to focus our behavior (1 Timothy 1:14; 2 Timothy 1:13; John 13:34). They anchor us in life, so we are not overwhelmed as we encounter many trials. Paul follows those traits with "patience" (upomone) and "meekness" (praupathian). One must learn to bear under and endure (Luke 21:19; 2 Corinthians 6:4; 2 Thessalonians 3:5; 2 Peter 1:6) while having a disposition that does not falter in gentleness and temper. The ground of our behavior, the motivation of our behavior, and the nature of our endurance are placed before each of us in this charge to Timothy.