Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:23)
When Paul wrote to Timothy to avoid foolish, ignorant controversies, he was likely referring to those converts to Christianity who kept dragging Jewish laws and customs into the church. Specifically, Paul’s instructions were to not be quarrelsome.
The saying (that I just made up) goes: “Every quarrel is a disagreement but not every disagreement is a quarrel.” Controversies themselves are not quarrels. The scripture cautions that controversies (of the foolish, ignorant kind) are what LEAD to quarreling.
How do we know when a disagreement has become a quarrel? The saying (that I did NOT just make up) goes: “It takes two to Tango.” A quarrel can’t happen without your participation. When you get impatient, ill-mannered, or lose your temper and continue the argument; you’re being quarrelsome.
“John, you jerk!! You quarrel with people ALL DAY LONG!!! Your blog is FULL of controversy!!! Why don’t you take the plank out of your eye, hypocrite!!?”
I’ll take this opportunity to gently, patiently, try to teach you by repeating myself. A disagreement IS NOT always a quarrel. And (this is important) I’m not guilty of quarreling just because you are agitated or upset. Your emotions are your responsibility. If you can’t disagree without losing your cool, Paul is talking to YOU when he said, ‘have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies.’
I’ll engage with you until it becomes obvious to me that you’re just picking fights. Then, I’ll leave you to carry on with your unrighteous babbling. The Bible doesn’t allow me to spend too much time with foolish ignorance but I do hope you’ll come to your senses and escape the devil’s snare.
