Friday, September 18, 2009

Stupid & Senseless

"Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening... Have nothing to do with stupid & senseless controversies; you know that they breed quarrels."
(2 Timothy 2:14, 23)

I don't know if there's any deep spiritual insight here... I just resonated with these 2 verses from 2nd Timothy, chapter 2. Some people seem to be always looking for an argument or debate. I get it that people have passions and beliefs - many of which run quite deeply. And yet, oftentimes it seems the goal is more to "stir up the pot" and get others riled up. Congrats... it sure works. But it's not my style.

Paul tells Timothy to avoid this. As a leader, Paul knows there's a time and place to "take a stand" and "speak the truth in love." However, I dare say he recognizes that God wants him to be IN RELATIONSHIP with others, too! Getting frequently involved in "stupid and senseless controversies" tends to limit that quite often.

I guess I'd rather be "in relationship" with others, rather than to be "right" all the time... but that's just me (and maybe, Paul, too!).

1 comment:

Pastor Robb said...

I like your reflection and it makes me think about my own predilection to get into arguments. I wonder what types of things are not senseless? Here recently the debate over health care reform seems important to engage in because of how it affects the poor and powerless. But I keep wondering about the way that I am engaging in the debate...
Thanks Jim, as always...