Flee the Youthful Passion to Debate it All

Scripture: …charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers…flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 2 Timothy 2:14,22-23

Observation: God is warning Timothy not to get embroiled in pointless arguments about words. The reason is: the more people hear debates about words, the more they think that words, not deeds are what is important. That having the right theology is sufficient. They become content to be hearers of the word instead of doers. And then God says to flee youthful passion. I always assumed this was the sexual cravings of a young man. But in context, it seems likely that these are the youthful tendencies to debate and argue theology. I have noticed that younger people want to debate every point of theology vigorously. I think this is an important part of the maturity process—I went through it as well. It is important to own your faith. But as you grow and mature, you begin to see that not everything is worth arguing about. That you can be fast friends with someone you disagree with. That doing the word begins to take on preeminence. The worst kind of shepherd is one who wants to always debate and discuss theological controversies. Is there a place for that? Sure, but not when trying to lead those who call upon the Lord with a pure heart. You run the risk of ruining their purity and poisoning them, turning them into debaters of the word instead of doers.

Application: Not everything is worth a fight. I need to pull back from debating and rest in where God has me. I must remain open to learning and to changing, but I should not feel guilty when I take steps to avoid pointless debates.

Prayer: God, keep me humble and focused on you. Help me lead those who come to me with quarrels about words to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. Show me the line between genuine discussion and ignorant controversies.