But you, man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
flee these things; and follow after righteousness: The pursuit of holiness involves a constant process of fleeing and following. There is a pattern of avoidance and pursuit. Paul instructs the Romans to "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good" (Romans 12:9; also see 2 Timothy 2:22). Paul approaches this topic in other epistles as a process of putting off and putting on. What better way to flee evil than by being busy with good. Habitual behavior is not changed by mere resistance, but by replacement with a right response to fill the void of the stopped action. There is no better way to flee evil than by pursuing good.