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Foolish and Stupid Arguments

              Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 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. (II Timothy 1:23-26)

This is one of those passages that can easily be misquoted. People may go as far as “not resentful” and stop. This leads to a false impression of what the Lord’s servant is to be like. Don’t ever say anything that might be considered quarrelsome or unkind, and don’t ever be resentful, period. In other words, the Lord’s servant has to keep his/her big mouth shut at all times. Never mind that Jesus didn’t do this

If we continue to the next verse, however, we see how we are to deal with those who disagree. We are to gently instruct them. We’re to have hope that God will work in their lives, and hope requires patience and endurance on our part. Yes, there were times when Jesus expressed Himself strongly, but there is no evidence that such was His standard approach.  In Paul’s admonition, the word translate “quarrels” is translated in a number of other ways in this verse: strife, conflict, fights, trouble, contentions, battles, and infighting. In only three do they use the word arguments. Twice, they use a modifier: bitter, bigger. One says it will breed arguments. I think it important that the vast majority of translations do not use the word “argument” because do not have to be as emotional as a quarrel.  With a quarrel, there is generally personal animus. One side or the other, or both sides emerges with feelings of hostility toward the other. This is what we’re supposed to avoid.

That’s not the same as giving up or surrendering. Keep in mind that God’s been doing this in the lives of billions of people for thousands of years, and He hasn’t given up. Just make sure that you're not engaging in foolish or stupid arguments.

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