Always Causing Arguments

https://youtu.be/ZrXKzkzln1c

(2 Timothy 2:24-26) “A servant of the Lord must not argue. Instead, he must be kind to everyone, teachable, willing to suffer wrong, and gentle when refuting opponents. After all, maybe God will allow them to repent and to come to a full knowledge of the truth, so that they might escape from the devil’s snare, even though they’ve been held captive by him to do his will.”

(James 3:16-17) “For wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil. However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, willing to yield, full of compassion and good deeds, and without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.”

There are those that are always causing problems, talking negatively, and making every rational discussion into a personal fight. You know who they are. Whenever they appear, you start to lose your peace and get affected by the gossip, complaining, and strong opinions they express. Their tone of voice is usually loud and intimidating, just like a bully that needs to make his/her presence known. Maybe you are that person.

This kind of personality does not represent Christ and it does not reflect the fact that you are connected to God in any way. No matter how much you disagree with someone, even if it is within the Christian family about a particular interpretation of a verse, God’s love for both of you overrides who is right or wrong. If you are challenged about your faith with insults, you are supposed to be gentle in answer and show the compassion Christ had for us when we were in rebellion.

Your reaction to the conversation will determine the outcome. Sometimes it is better not to answer or correct that person, as it only creates more stress. Either you add more wood to the fire and make things worse, or you answer softly and with the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember, the wisdom that you receive from God is pure and gentle, don’t corrupt that by adding your emotions.

While I was training for ministry, I lived within the church premises for a few years. We had to receive all who came to spend time in the church during hours when we had no service. But at times many idle brothers would come and start to gossip and talk about things that were not of benefit to anyone. This made me very uncomfortable as I was divided between being a good host and trying not to be affected by their idle and negative talk.

My pastor suggested I start to read the Bible with them and steer the conversation to bring glory to God. So I did that exactly. Eventually, they started to change their conversation when they would come and spend time with me, and all of us grew in the knowledge of Christ and the love for one another.

If you are truly walking in the Spirit, you will not meddle with such contentious people, nor feel comfortable around them, nor give ear to their idle conversations.

Prayers

• Heavenly Father, You are the God who begot me, who sees me and appears onto His people.
• We thank You for the wisdom in Your Word and for how it corrects us with love and compassion.
• Forgive us for becoming proud in our knowledge of You or in our intellectual abilities. Forgive us for caring more about being right, than keeping the peace.
• We want to represent Your wisdom and Your Spirit here on earth.
• We ask that whenever we are confronted with contentious people, You will give us the wisdom on how to react. Let our words be that of the Holy Spirit in every situation.
• We ask for your healing in our emotions due to negative past experiences.
• We declare that from this day forth we will no longer be part of the problem, but rather become the solution through the Love of Christ.
• Help us not to argue, instead, to be kind to everyone, teachable, willing to suffer wrong, and gentle when refuting opponents.

• We ask in Jesus’ Mighty Name. Amen