How do you handle misunderstandings?
Question:
Is there anything in the Bible that a person can apply to their lives as to how to best deal directly with misunderstandings and confusion?
I notice this is can be a weakness with a lot of people. When they encounter something they don't at first understand, and it's still taking longer than 'usual' to make sense, their reaction is often an emotional one that leads to frustration, and they quit trying. Getting frustrated never seems to work, though maybe it helps in some way. So I'm wondering what's the best method to deal with this? Because it seems all strife and quarrels start with a misunderstanding of some sort. And people who understand are not likely to do or say things toward another that can be harmful. But not just misunderstandings between people, it can be a misunderstanding in regards to the Bible, it can be between two people who are quarreling, or it can be in regards to trying to better a skill. How are we to best deal with the 'meantime' in which we are directly confused by something or don't fully understand any given situation?
Answer:
"But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will" (II Timothy 2:23-26).
Patience is an absolute requirement in teaching others. It is very easy to get caught up in winning the current argument or wanting to get instant results, forgetting that the only important goal is helping people reach heaven. In describing love, I think there is an important reason that Paul's list begins with "Love is patent, ..." (I Corinthians 13:4). It is what God shows toward us and what we must show toward others. "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4).
