“Endless and silly arguments over words”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Thursday, February 9, 2023

2 Timothy 2:14-26 (Forward, p. 11) CEV p. 1250

Hey, was the apostle Paul living in our present day, post Covid world, and speaking directly to us and our situation? Our terribly fragmented and divided world seems to be endlessly at war with itself, simply over words. Words pertaining to health directives and government regulations, or over the latest medical information, or over what is touted as true or what is labelled as ‘fake news’. Well might Paul’s words have been uttered today, for they seem uncannily appropriate:

“These arguments don’t help anyone. In fact, they ruin everyone who listens to them” (verse 14b).

His advice to his friend Timothy could well have been said today:

“Keep away from worthless and useless talk. It only leads people farther away from God. That sort of talk is like a sore that won’t heal” (verses 16-17).

“Stay away from stupid and senseless arguments. These only lead to trouble and God’s servants must not be troublemakers” (verses 23-24a)

Interestingly, apart from just one titbit, we are not given any indication as to what these senseless arguments might be about. The only thing we are told is that two people, Hymenaeus and Philetus, were preaching that the dead have already been raised to life. Paul maintains that not only is this far from the truth, but that it is also destroying the faith of some people. And therein, is probably an essential gem. Teachings of any sort that trouble people needlessly or threaten or destroy their faith should most certainly be avoided. In other words, none of us in the church should act like ‘troublemakers’, just stirring things up. This, it would seem, is key if we are to avoid seemingly endless and silly arguments over words.

There is one other element that would also seem to be key to nipping such arguments in the bud or negating their insidious influence, and that is our behaviour, our character. Timothy is therefore instructed to ‘avoid all temptations like a plague’, to always do the right thing, and to be faithful,

loving and easy to get along with. His life is to be pure and holy and pleasing to God. His life is to be full of good deeds, and he is to be kind to everyone, a good teacher and one who is very patient with others. Surely such a life would undermine much of the silly and destructive talk that Paul warns Timothy about.

In a world where talk, whether in person in a public rally, in a media interview, in a private conversation or on the social media, can so easily be intemperate on the one hand, or misconstrued or misquoted on the other, it is all the more important that we are careful with our words and that we guard with all diligence what comes out of our mouths. And it is all the more important that our actions back up and give substance to what we say. As one wag once said, “Your actions speak so loud, I can’t hear a word you say.” We would never want that to happen in any of our lives, that our actions would undo or negate what we say. May God help us all in this. Amen.

Forward notes: “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness” (verses 24-25a).

“I once had a difficult student. He was a native Spanish speaker and had taken my class for the easy A. I asked the English as a Second Language teacher about him. She cautioned, ‘Getting in his face is going to get you nowhere.’

“I never once forced him to do anything or acted like I knew more than he did because ‘I was the teacher.’ When the students turned in essays about their favorite day, his was beautifully written—but without a single accent mark. I casually asked him, ‘Would you like to learn the accent rules?’ I held my breath and prayed. He shrugged indifferently. After five seconds, his energy shifted, and he said he’d like to learn. I made a copy of the essay and showed him where they went. His written Spanish included the accents for the rest of the year.

“’Getting in his face is going to get you nowhere’ became part of my life philosophy and remains with me today. Be kind, be patient. Correct with gentleness.”

Moving Forward: “Is correcting with gentleness a challenge for you? Practice deliberate patience this week.”