Friday 21 November 2008

Must not quarrel

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, - 2 Timothy 2v24

I was really hit by this today. It was so simple and so deeply profound. I don’t think I have ever seen this in this way before.

Here we have a requirement for servants of the Lord that is not often preached about. ‘The servant of the Lord must not quarrel…’

To be honest, this really flies in the face of so much that I have been taught and believed. The group I am associated with often prides themselves in being fighters. The great ‘heroes of the faith’ are the tough guys. Spirituality is far too often measured by toughness.

And yet, over and over again we find some hints that we might just have something wrong here. Here is one of those times – The servant of the Lord must not quarrel. Instead, he must be gentle to all.

Wow! I am really stuck, challenged, and convicted by that simple statement. No quarrel, but gentle.

I don’t know what to say here. I need to stop and mull this over.

Not quarrelsome, gentle, apt to teach, patient. There are some goals to set my eyes and heart on.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey.
I hate quarreling. It leads to hurt feelings, misunderstandings and the occasional gossip. People are going to be who they are and apart from the working of the HS, they will not change.
Love and hugs to all there. I have been missing you greatly lately.
Cindi