
Walking away from a fight has never been my forte. As a teenager, I used to actively bait arguments and debates on a few different message boards on everything from sports to the arts to religion. I just enjoyed the art of debate. It's not surprising that when I had the opportunity to join a debate team, there was no time wasted signing up.
As I've grown older, self-control has started to take over. I see the limited value in endless arguments, especially when the benefit of "winning" is margin at best.
In 2 Timothy, Paul writes about false teachers and those we would objectively state are "doing wrong". Does he advocate for bickering and arguing with them or is there another path?
22 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:22-25)
Paul's take is basically "say your piece, then move on". There isn't a lot of wiggle room for getting bogged down in endless debates about things you know to be true. Now, this doesn't really settle your random Facebook argument or give you a lot of guidance on how to deal with debates over politics or who has the best BBQ in the region, but it should give you a guide for what God thinks about bickering. Christ was not argumentative. He called out false testimony when he saw it and rebuked the religious leaders who sought to mislead others, but then he quickly moved on to love.
Similarly, we should seek to be bold, call sin out for what it is, but then move on to love... a far more enduring and impressionable tool for good.
Comments