ARGUING: A WASTE OF TIME

 

ARGUING: A WASTE OF TIME

II Tim. 2:14 Remind everyone of these things, and command them in God's name to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them. NLT

Fighting over words is pointless and it causes far more harm than good. It is true in relationships and in our understandings of spiritual matters. We get defensive over what we believe to be true. Now, don't get me wrong. We must know what we believe, why we believe it, and be willing to defend it. However, arguing with each other accomplishes nothing except to drive a wedge between us. More fellowship is lost over spiritual arguing than probably anything else we do in church. We will never convince anyone of what we believe to be true by arguing with them. We get very defensive when we allow our emotions to drive our discussions. We don't let love drive us. We lose control of our thinking. Rather than growing in our understanding of truth through mutual edification, we ruin the fellowship we might have with each other.

There is a much better way than arguing to express our convictions. We need to open the Word up together with an open heart, willing to listen and learn. We may not be convinced, but we gain a different perspective and learn to value the work of the Spirit in others in their walk with Christ. The goal is for all of us to learn from Him how to live godly lives before God. It is His work to change one's perspective if it needs to change. It is His work to guide us into all truth.

Let us respectfully agree that we aren't all going to understand all of the Scriptures the same way, and that it is okay. As long as we rally together at the foot of the cross, we don't have to be in agreement on everything.

Let’s be honest with each other. Arguing over words is a waste of time and energy. We are not mandated to go out and convince others that we are right in our understanding; we are mandated to go out into the world and make disciples.