Gentle, Not Quarrelsome

by Edwin Crozier

Text: II Timothy 2

I find it a bit humorous. When Paul tells Timothy he is given a spirit of power instead of fear and tells him to fan his gift into flame, many people conclude, "Timothy must have been a timid, cowardly fellow." However, I've yet to hear anyone say, "You know, Timothy must have been a quarrelsome and pugnacious fellow, considering how many times Paul tells him to stay out of fights and arguments."

I don't think Timothy was any more argumentative than I think he was cowardly. Rather, these were simply the dangers that came with the preacher's course. Paul warned Timothy of them. But I have to admit, I am a preacher. I hang out with preachers. I have conversations with preachers. In my experience, preachers, as a class, are a pretty quarrelsome lot. I have and continue to struggle with the tendency to verbally spar and not think about the fallout until later.

Paul tells Timothy to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace along with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart. While he pursues those things, he is not only to avoid youthful passions, but also foolish, ignorant controversies. Why? I would expect that their foolishness and ignorance would be enough. But Paul has a bigger reason. These controversies breed quarrels. And the Lord's slave must not be quarrelsome.

Don't misunderstand. Sometimes, the Lord's slave must correct opponents. But he is to do so with gentleness. The Lord's slave is to be kind to everyone, able to teach, and patient in the face of suffering. He is not supposed to quarrel and fight.

We are once again left with the struggle to know the difference between when correction is needed and when arguing is to be avoided. When is the controversy foolish, and when is it contending for the faith? We struggled with this question while reading Titus as well. Perhaps we have an easier time here. This tells us how to behave no matter the conversation. We are to be kind, patient, gentle, skillful. If we work on these traits no matter the controversy, perhaps we will respond properly when the controversy is foolish and when it is necessary.

In both cases, we must remember who the enemy is. The "opponents" are not the enemy. Rather, they have been captured by the devil to do his will. The devil is the enemy. We ourselves were once captured by him and were doing his will. With this in mind, we can approach the controversies with the right outlook and the opponents with the right attitude. In so doing, God may perhaps grant them repentance that leads to the knowledge of the truth.

Let us pray that we will be the kind of slave to the Lord we need to be. Let us pray that the Lord will grant repentance to the opponents. Let us avoid foolish controversies. But no matter the controversy, let us abandon being quarrelsome and pursue gentleness, patience, and kindness.