Our Christianity is a package deal. We can’t pick financial blessings and overlook the mistreatment of our fellow man. We can’t claim heaven as our home and forget that there are people still going to hell.
Yet the religious world thinks nothing of arguing church dogma and religious precepts that differ only slightly from denomination to denomination.
Even Catholic to Protestant…we all believe in the same Christ.
We need to punch up the package. That means we need to tout the triumph of the entire deal. We need to raise Jesus high and let the arguments slip away unnoticed.
How important does God consider this? Let’s look at ten examples from his Word:
Example #1:
2 Timothy 2:14 tells us: “Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.”
Winning the argument is for our edification only. God’s kingdom receives no satisfaction at all from our victory.
Example #2:
2 Timothy 2:16 cautions us: “But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness.”
The current soap opera drama or neighborhood gossip is not good subject matter, not if we want to remain close to God.
Example #3:
2 Timothy 2:23-25 says: “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.”
Quarreling brings no one to Jesus. Rather, it drives them away.
Example #4:
James 4:1-3 questions: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
Rather than argue with each other, we should turn to God with our words, for he has all the final answers.
Example #5:
2 Corinthians 10:5 gives us focus: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
When we compare the arguments of this world against the Bible, all dissention will fade away. Only the Word carries the ultimate truth.
Example #6:
Proverbs 21:9 offers us a humorous comparison: “It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.”
The lesson we can learn from this? If we persist in arguing, we will drive people from the church and from Jesus.
Example #7:
Proverbs 15:1 is our solution: “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
We can’t afford to cave in to wrong thinking just for the sake of peace. Neither can we confront misconceptions with a strong hand. Rather, we must gently present the truth.
Example #8:
1 Timothy 6:4 describes the argumentative man: “He is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions.”
This is a mirror we can hold up to ourselves. How do we compare?
Example #9:
James 1:19 speaks to those on both sides of the argument: “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”
It takes two to argue. It also takes two to slow down and discuss a subject peacefully.
Example #10:
Matthew 7:3 shows just how ludicrous arguing really is: “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”
No one is perfect. We just tend to overlook our own imperfections and yet hold others to impossible standards.
Not only is Christianity a package deal, so are the people who walk the straight and narrow way at our side. When we punch up the package, we become a support network for one another. We encourage stragglers in times of difficulty, correct misunderstandings with gentle words, and always, always stand by those who endeavor to do right in the sight of the Lord.
Christianity is not Winner Takes All. We find our success as a team.
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