A CAUTION AGAINST QUARRELING

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.

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.

2 Timothy 2:14b, 23-24

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Having been in the Christian church for more than 30 years now, it still amazes me how squabbles within the body that are often over trivial matters serve to destroy relationships and fracture congregations, even denominations. Maybe you have witnessed this or even been in the middle of said skirmishes.

With this, it’s little wonder why God’s word addresses the matter of quarreling. Providing important guidance that is too often ignored and disregarded. Look at these verses from the second chapter of 2 Timothy:

Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.

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. Vv. 14b, 23-24

Note here that there are no positives related to entering into “foolish and stupid arguments” within the Christian church. God’s word is clear here that they are “of no value” and only cause ruin. This isn’t the only place in the scriptures that advise against needless conflict. Consider these verses:

It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. Proverbs 20:3

As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife. Proverbs 26:21

Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin. Proverbs 17:19

Just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. Romans 1:28-32

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. James 4:1-2

It’s important to see that the matter of quarreling isn’t just a modern day church issue. The problem existed more than 2,000 years ago as well.

Why?

Because sin existed well before the Christian church was formed and any congregation of Jesus believers is a congregation of sinners. Therefore, anyone could spark or participate in the kind of strife the Bible prohibits. This is why we had all better be on guard and seek the Lord in regard to any matters that arise and need addressed. When we rely on Him and not our own understanding, we can always be sure He will make our paths straight and steer us away from destructive behaviors that damage vice advance the church (Proverbs 3:5-6).

The church in Ephesus had some issues as false teaching was trying to make inroads within the congregation. One of Paul’s reasons for writing to the pastor of the Ephesians and his missionary partner, Timothy, was to provide counsel on how to handle those who were stirring up issues through what he referred to as “meaningless talk” that promoted “controversial speculations” instead of “advancing God’s work” (1 Timothy 1:3-4, 6). He advised Timothy to caution the Ephesian Christians about the dangers found in quarrels and to teach them behaviors that were more acceptable. They included:

1. Kindness.

The Lord’s servant...must be kind to everyone...not resentful

Senseless arguing over trivial matters often leads a person away from kindness and love and towards anger and resentment.

Key words here remind us that any Christian is “the Lord’s servant” and as believers, we are to be Christ-like in the way we behave. We will be if we allow the Holy Spirit within us to be our guide for He and He alone will always lead us to bear the fruits of His counsel which, of course, includes kindness (Galatians 5:22-23). Note as well that we don’t have the latitude to pick and choose who we are kind to. The scriptures are clear here that we, as the Lord’s servants, are to be kind to everyone.

2. We need to teach others about proper Christian behavior.

The Lord’s servant must...be...able to teach.

Now, is every person a teacher by trade?

Maybe not in the purest sense of what we might consider teaching, the stand in front of a group and instruct kind. But everyone can teach others by the example they set and thus every single person who chooses to believe in Jesus, committing to live as He did by way of the Holy Spirit’s leading, can show those not in Christ how they should be living and conducting themselves. All Christians, servants of the Lord, bear this responsibility.

In sum, the scriptures are telling us to stay away from quarreling and the strife found in the midst of it and instead act as the Lord’s servants that we are, being kind and loving to everyone while modeling the way Christ lived. If all Christians would commit to this, think about how much of a game changer it would be for our church and our world. It’s something I ask you to join me in prayer over.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.