A common trend in Christianity today is to argue and fight over what we believe. Recently, John MacArthur’s comments about Beth Moore incited many people fight and argue about what was said and the stances they hold about women in church leadership. His comments were clearly inappropriate, but so were many of the responses from both sides (although not from Beth Moore, who the comments were actually made about). It turned into a battle that was void of the love of Jesus over something that is not at the heart of what Jesus is about.
In 2 Timothy 2, Paul reminds Timothy of the essence of what Jesus did. He reminds him that Jesus died to free us of our sins and that He is faithful to us no matter what. He reminds him to teach those truths no matter what hardships he may go through. Then he tells him to tell people to stop fighting over empty words.
Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.
2 Timothy 2:14 (ESV)
To quarrel about words comes from a Greek compound logomacheō which means to wrangle about empty and trifling matters. The people were bickering about issues that didn’t matter and were forgetting about what Jesus actually did for them. This is so common today. Paul says that doing that will ruin those who hear it. Ruin comes from the Greek word katastrophē. It will be a catastrophe for those that hear it.
Going back to the MacArthur-Moore battle, it brought so much strife and anger to those proclaiming to be Christians. It also caused a scene that would make someone who isn’t a Christian wonder why they should be. If that is what Christians are, why would I choose to be a part of that? Most of the conversation around the incident did not display the love of Christ. It was a catastrophe.
Something I actively try to do is to engage in content from differing opinions than mine. I don’t believe it is good for me just to consume things that agree with me. This challenges me to be able to think about what I believe and why I believe it. It makes me go back and study God’s word to get His perspective on things. It also allows me to have thoughtful and meaningful conversations with those I don’t agree with. There are non-negotiables, like salvation is found in Christ alone, but outside of those I want to engage with my beliefs carefully. I want to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry like James 1:19 says.
I’m certainly not perfect at this, but I have become much better at biting my tongue. One of the best examples I have seen of this recently is the Vox Podcast with Mike Erre. In Episode 219, they invite someone onto the podcast who has an opinion the exact opposite of theirs. They give him space to explain his position without pushing back or fighting him on it. They then have an open and honest conversation about it without any arguing or heated moments. You can check it out HERE.
Paul wasn’t telling Timothy not to have discussions about those topics. He was telling him to stop fighting about it. When we have candid conversations that are peaceful and thoughtful, it is an inviting environment for people to come into. People with questions, doubts, or any number of other things will feel like they have a seat at the table. Those discussions can lead to discussions about the heart of Jesus and what He did. Those discussions can lead to life changing decisions. Jesus welcomed those conversations (Luke 19:1-10), and I want to follow His example.
until next time…