Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. -2 Timothy 2:23
Although these words from Paul were written in a different time and in a different technological context, they seem uniquely directed to our online culture. Allow any comment thread to go on too long and, regardless of the banality of where it started, it seems to always end with flames, trolls and someone being called a Nazi. For whatever reason, the anonymity of online interactions reveals a brokenness in each of us that loves to engage in “foolish and stupid arguments.” But this impulse is not limited to the Internet. It releases a fundamental brokenness within the human heart that is drawn to argument and controversy.
Paul commands his protegee to not even engage in these kinds of interactions. Paul, whose time as a Pharisee must have been filled with meaningless arguments over the minutiae of interpreting the Mosaic law, knew the emptiness and vanity of these arguments. His command to Timothy echoes to us, calling us out of the desire to win the argument and to a deeper consideration of our purpose.
Too often we prioritize winning the argument and in doing so we sacrifice the relationship. God did not call us to argue His kingdom into this world but to live it in this world. When we spend more time declaring than we do demonstrating, we have lost something fundamental about the Kingdom that Jesus brought into our world. God does not call us to be merely the heralds of his kingdom, but its servants.
To avoid the temptation to engage in these types of debates, we must give up the idea that being right is a victory. Despite the attitudes or actions of our “opponents”, we must focus our attention on the mission that God has called us to. By staying present with God, we can see that even those we vehemently disagree with are a beloved child of God. In God’s presence, we give up the need to be right and instead seek reconciliation and relationship instead of verbal victory. When this discipline is extended into every relationship in our lives, we become agents of God’s peace, bringing reconciliation and fellowship where previously there was discord.
Although these words from Paul were written in a different time and in a different technological context, they seem uniquely directed to our online culture. Allow any comment thread to go on too long and, regardless of the banality of where it started, it seems to always end with flames, trolls and someone being called a Nazi. For whatever reason, the anonymity of online interactions reveals a brokenness in each of us that loves to engage in “foolish and stupid arguments.” But this impulse is not limited to the Internet. It releases a fundamental brokenness within the human heart that is drawn to argument and controversy.
Paul commands his protegee to not even engage in these kinds of interactions. Paul, whose time as a Pharisee must have been filled with meaningless arguments over the minutiae of interpreting the Mosaic law, knew the emptiness and vanity of these arguments. His command to Timothy echoes to us, calling us out of the desire to win the argument and to a deeper consideration of our purpose.
Too often we prioritize winning the argument and in doing so we sacrifice the relationship. God did not call us to argue His kingdom into this world but to live it in this world. When we spend more time declaring than we do demonstrating, we have lost something fundamental about the Kingdom that Jesus brought into our world. God does not call us to be merely the heralds of his kingdom, but its servants.
To avoid the temptation to engage in these types of debates, we must give up the idea that being right is a victory. Despite the attitudes or actions of our “opponents”, we must focus our attention on the mission that God has called us to. By staying present with God, we can see that even those we vehemently disagree with are a beloved child of God. In God’s presence, we give up the need to be right and instead seek reconciliation and relationship instead of verbal victory. When this discipline is extended into every relationship in our lives, we become agents of God’s peace, bringing reconciliation and fellowship where previously there was discord.
Comments
Post a Comment