by Edwin Crozier<\/p>\n
Text: II Timothy 2<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1366,536,231,451],"class_list":["post-97457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-gentleness","tag-preaching","tag-strife","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":542,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":97457,"position":0},"title":"Preachers (Article)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Among the duties or roles within the church listed in Ephesians 4:11-12 is the work of the evangelist. The word is translated from a Greek word which referred to a person who brought joyous news of victory from the battlefront. When the same word is used\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53473,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pride-and-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":97457,"position":1},"title":"Pride and Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bruce Reeves There has been some discussion lately about preachers and jealousy. Brother Tommy Peeler has pointed out that preachers are not the only ones who struggle with jealousy. I knew a man one time that told a gospel preacher that he did not think that it was fair\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88708,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-profitable-way\/","url_meta":{"origin":97457,"position":2},"title":"The Profitable Way","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by R. Andrew Parker via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 17 No. 4, 31 December 1991 Let's face it: traditionally, we have been a quarrelsome people. Wherever we can find an excuse to argue, we do. If we cannot find a relatively good reason, we will be sure to split a hair or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62152,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/rules-for-religious-discussions\/","url_meta":{"origin":97457,"position":3},"title":"Rules for Religious Discussions","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Sochor \u00a0 \"But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence\" (I Peter 3:15). It is incumbent upon all Christians to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/discussion-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":68758,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/pauls-letters-to-preachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":97457,"position":4},"title":"Paul’s Letters to Preachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Keith Sharp In denominational commentaries, the apostle Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus are grouped together as \"The Pastoral Epistles.\" The term \"pastor\" is found only once in the New Testament, in Ephesians 4:11 (KJV, NKJV, ASV, NASV). The word is translated as \"shepherds\" in the ESV. It is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51035,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-preacher-and-his-study\/","url_meta":{"origin":97457,"position":5},"title":"The Preacher and His Study","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hiram Kemp The preacher of God's Word is to speak with all the authority God has given him (Titus 2:15). He is to speak as the oracles of God (I Peter 4:11). He is to proclaim the gospel as the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). 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