23 But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling. 24 And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing. 25 He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth. 26 Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Mei Chan

Have you ever heard the saying, “win the argument, lose the person”? It’s the idea that sometimes we can be so focussed on proving that we are right in the debate, that we don’t realise the damage to the relationship that can happen through our words or actions. How do we disagree well with a brother or sister in Christ, especially if the truth of the gospel is at stake?

In today’s passage, Paul doesn’t pretend that there won’t be disagreements or misunderstandings, but he encourages Timothy to stay away from the kinds of quarrelling that might stem from things that aren’t gospel issues – things that might be foolish or speculative. Even with debates that are gospel issues, Paul does encourage Timothy to correct false teaching, but with gentleness, kindness, forbearance. The goal of the gentle correction is not to win the argument, but to win their opponent away from Satan and back to God. It’s seeking their good in the deepest sense – longing for their repentance and renewed faith, gaining them back as a brother or sister in Christ instead of losing them forever to the devil.

Even though we’re not all leaders in a church like Timothy was, I pray that these verses would characterise us in the way we have disagreements with our brothers and sisters at church. I pray that we would seek to imitate Timothy (and ultimately Jesus) in the way he sought to bring people to the truth, but with gentleness and mercy, seeking the good of their souls rather than an argument won.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mei is a member of our Fairfield Morning congregation.