A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth.

2 Timothy 2:24-25

Yesterday we explored the opportunity to embrace God’s “don’ts” as “Child, don’t hurt yourself by…”.

Today, let’s take a moment to look at one of God’s don’ts – don’t be quarrelsome – and embrace it as an opportunity to not hurt ourselves by being quarrelsome.

These days it seems like everyone has an opinion to share. Sometimes people’s opinions ruffle my feathers. If you encounter anyone at all during your day, then I imagine your feathers get ruffled from time to time too.

When someone’s statements or opinions rub me the wrong way, I find that Holy Spirit most often reminds me of II Timothy 2:24: “the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome”.

When I think of what it means to be the Lord’s servant, I always think first of the Apostle Paul and the account of his journey to Rome to be judged for his perceived crimes against Caesar (proclaiming Jesus was Lord and not Caesar) found in Acts 27.

On the way to Rome, Paul was guarded by a centurion by the name of Julius. Paul was very kind to him and he in return was kind to Paul. Later in their journey toward Rome their ship was set upon by a massive storm. Paul received guidance from the Lord that they should all stay on the ship and ride out the storm while seeking a place to run aground. Because of their good relationship, Julius listened to Paul and instructed the rest of the men and prisoners to do the same. However, some of the men used the pretense of checking the anchor to take a small craft down to the sea; they tried to escape the storm in the small boat and they perished.

Several days later when the ship ran atop a reef, many of the guards wanted to kill the prisoners to prevent them from swimming ashore and escaping, but Julius did not allow it. All of the men, Romans and prisoners, swam ashore, all were saved except those who took the small boat against Paul’s advice (given to him by God), and Paul resumed his captive journey to Rome.

What does this story about Paul have to do with II Timothy 2:24 and not hurting ourselves by being quarrelsome?

Imagine if Paul had, instead of being kind and gentle with his captors, ranted and raved at them out of resentment. After all, he had done nothing wrong. He was speaking the news of the Son of God, the truth about the One True King. Caesar was the one in the wrong. No man is greater than God and for a man to consider himself equal to God is offensive to God. Yet, even though Caesar was clearly in the wrong and by extension Julius and all of the other soldiers too, Paul still upheld all that God had taught him to be: loving, kind, patient, and helpful.

Paul could have lied and told the Romans that anyone who left the boat would be saved in an effort to get them all killed, but he did not. He loved God with all of his heart and because of that love he chose to love his captors and the other prisoners as well. The Roman soldiers and the other prisoners saw Paul’s acts of kindness, his patience, and his calm guidance and they knew his ways to be different than their own. They saw God through Paul’s actions and attitude.

Dear heart, while we may never find ourselves in prison chains, we do run into people from time to time who oppose us, people who hurt our feelings, mock our Christian lifestyle, try to abuse our goodwill, use us to accomplish their own goals, etc…

Human nature tells us to be mad about it, to be hostile toward them, to resent their treatment of us, BUT God (two sweet, sweet words), God tells us to be kind to those who accuse us, oppress us, mistreat us; to be patient with them, to teach them with gentleness that they may see Christ in us and see what a difference His presence in our heart makes. We can testify with our mouths all day long and we should, but our actions speak louder than our words (Matthew 7:20, James 1:22, 1 John 3:18).

When God tells us not to be quarrelsome, we can embrace it as, “Child, don’t hurt your witness by being a difficult person”.

To show other people the difference that Christ can make in their hearts, the wonder and security of walking closely with God, we must exemplify the qualities of Christ in our actions and attitudes, we must walk confidently in our daily lives knowing that God is in control. To someone, maybe to many, your kindness, gentleness, and patience may be the spark that lights their desire to know God; they may never have heard about Him before or heard only twisted doctrines or half truths. Your choice to follow Christ in word and deed can make all the difference in their lives right now and in their eternity forever.

Some folks may be thinking, “That sounds great and all, but I’m just not a patient person or a gentle person or an overly kind person. Those verses are probably meant for other people.”.

No, sir. No, ma’am.

Those verses, like all of the Bible, are for all of us. Human nature may not be kind or patient or gentle, but God’s nature is, and if you’ve accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, then the Spirit of God lives in you. The In-dwelling Spirit of God can make us everything that God desires us to be: kinder, gentler, more patient, more thoughtful, more fair, better teachers, better listeners, you name it and the Spirit can help you become it because God desires those positive traits and attitudes in us. It begins with a sincere “Yes, Lord” and the Spirit will guide you through the process. You’ll have to listen and change accordingly; it’s not a presto chango event usually (though it can be), but God will see you through to becoming who He made you to be so long as you stick with Him.

I’m so grateful for the Word of God and the examples of the early Christians like Paul. I’m thankful God is always working in me to build a foundation of Truth on which I can stand. I’m thankful that God’s “don’ts” keep me safe, even from myself!

Praises be to God Who provides our every need, Who teaches us with clear examples, Who never stops working on us, Who helps us become people that seek peace and avoid discord and overflow with gentility and patience for His namesake!