The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:24-26 NASB)
This strikes a real nerve with me, because it is against the natural way that I am. I don’t think I’m so different than a lot of other people here, either, though what I have found is that everyone has their reasons for being this way. I could tell you how intelligent I am, listing my genius-level IQ, citing my degrees or equivalents, tell you my work history and all the various responsible positions I have held (Hey, even Paul did that, to show a point to the contrary!), but all it would really be is noise and self-justification for remaining the way that I am.
How is that you say? Well, the opposite of what Paul is describing here. When he says that the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome, I sink a little in my chair. I must admit to you all that I love a good debate, and I often win them because I know my material. What I lose is the person I am debating, and if our object is to win souls to Christ, that cannot happen - ever. So what should I be instead of argumentative?
Well, Paul makes the opposite here one who is “kind to all.” The Greek word is epios, meaning affable, mild-mannered, or kind - that is, gentle. Okay, that isn’t me, I get downright confrontational - but the Lord would have me learn a new way. The Lord Jesus said in His sermon on the mount of olives, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt. 5:5) The Greek word for gentle here is praos, the same word translated as humble or meek. The work meek today has come to mean compliant or cowardly submission, but the way Jesus used it is quite different. He embodied the very character of meekness. He was God become a lowly man, having all the power he needed at the ready. All he had to do was ask God the Father for it. So when his enemies came to get him in the Garden of Gethsemane, he remarked to one of His disciples that if He asked, God would give Him 12 legions of angels to rescue Him. (In the Old Testament, 2 Kings 19:35, one angel struck down 185,000 enemy soldiers by himself.) He chose not to call those angels, and modified His response to a humble and gentle (I might add merciful) one.
That’s a tall enough order by itself, but then Paul adds to it! He tells us that the servant of the Lord must also be able to teach! Okay, I can do that, you may think. Think again, and think very hard and very carefully. The subject matter we are to teach is nothing less than the Word of God! And that, my friends, is a very serious responsibility! I won’t get into it in detail here, but the book of Revelation (22:18-19) gives some very serious warnings about doing that in a lacadaisical manner! The responsibility that goes with this is one we simply cannot shoulder without God’s help - thank God that He wants to help us to do it!
Then Paul says that the Lord’s servant must be patient when wronged! The Greek wordanexikakos literally means “enduring under ill treatment.” Okay, I’m an old warrior and martial artist. When someone hurts me, I have a sincere and understandable desire to hurt back. Wait a minute, see “meek.” The ability to choose to modify your response to be one of peace is an integral part of patience. No, it is not easy. However, it is necessary. Why? Well, Paull tells us we are to gently correct those who are in opposition. Oh brother, is that a can of worms.
Have you ever heard a hellfire and brimstone preacher really laying into his congregation about some obscure facet of orthodoxy as if it meant the end of the world if one did not obey that very instant? I have, and it isn’t pleasant. The assumption of the preacher in that case is that you are all in opposition to the will of God, and therefore he must bring a very strong message to instigate compliance. The probelm is that it is not gentle and that it does very little if anything to correct. I’ve heard thundering pronouncements by men who wanted to “put the fear of God” into me. It did very little more than inspire a supreme distaste for such overt idiocy, and I told more than one of them so, quoting this very verse. As servants of the Most High God, we not only need to have a care what we say, but how we say it. Why? Paul tells us - because there is a possibility that God may grant them repentance - that is, a change of mind so that they may see the truth of God and come to their senses and be delivered from the lies of the enemy of their souls. One of my uncles used to put it this way - you can get a lot more flies with honey than you ever could with vinegar. As quaint as that is, there’s real insight in that statement.
What we have to understand is that we WILL face opposition. We can go over the top about the latest political announcement or the left-or-right-wing agenda of fill-in-the-blank group and make thundering condemnations about their points of view, or we can take a position of peace. ”I understand that you hold this view or that opinion. I don’t mean to offend, but that isn’t what I’m convicted of. God says that [insert scriptural truth here], and He really loves you, no matter what you think or say. Have you considered this?” You will get varied responses - most will not listen - but some will, and those will come to their senses when God reveals the truth to them, and they will escape the traps the devil has set for them. Please don’t make it easy to condemn God’s point of view by issuing idiocy and calling it the truth, like “God hates pinko commies!” God loves every single one of us. If we focused on that message instead of reacting in the press the way I’ve seen some of these so-called pastors and teachers, things might be a LOT different.
As the Apostle Paul said to the Colossians, “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” (Colossians 4:6 NASB)
(All verses quoted from the New American Standard, 1995 unless otherwise stated.)
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"You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
-John 8:32 (NASB)
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