They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in … constant friction between people of corrupt mind…
Summary: Some words are annoying, while others are a source of constant friction. How do we know if they come from a corrupt mind?
What do you think of when you hear the word “friction”?
Do you remember your hands getting warm when you rub them together? Do you think of the brake pads on your car? Or does your mind form a picture of people who don’t get along?
Friction wears things down. Sandpaper rubbed against wood wears the wood down, smoothing over the rough spots. The oil in your car’s engine reduces friction and helps keep the car running without causing wear.
Constant friction changes the shape of things.
People who want to wear down those who oppose them use the same tool that a carpenter does: friction. They wear people down with words.
Let’s go back to the beginning. Paul provided Timothy with a list of administrative guidelines for the church (See 1 Timothy 5). Then he tells Timothy to “teach and insist on” these things (1 Timothy 6:2).
Throughout this letter, Paul has been exhorting Timothy to “command” others regarding the teaching of the Gospel. Not that Timothy has any rank to pull over other people, but nevertheless, he is to stand firm and protect the truth.
In a sense, Paul is saying, “Don’t let them wear you down!”
This is especially true when dealing with people of a “corrupt mind.” As Paul has been pointing out, such people are “conceited and understand nothing (1 Timothy 6:4). They seem to like “controversies and quarrels about words.”
You probably know the type.
If you use social media, you’ve seen posts by people who are angry at the world. Perhaps you have a relative who is intolerant of opinions that differ from theirs. Even the Christian church is scarred by fractures and divisions over words.
Does that mean Christians who argue over theology have a “corrupt mind”?
The only answer I can see for this question is the Great Commandments (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus tells us to love God above all else, and then to love our neighbor as ourselves.
The question we have to ask ourselves when we are tempted to engage in “controversies and quarrels” is, “What would God think?”
Clearly, some things are worth standing up for. Paul makes it clear to Timothy that he is to “Command and teach these things” (1 Timothy 4:11). Anything else, however, risks causing friction instead of love (1 Timothy 1:5).
Application: Choose your battles wisely.
Food for Thought: How can we check to make certain our arguments are based in love (agapē)?
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How can we check to make certain our arguments are based in love (agapē)?
I believe we have to check our motives. If our motives are rooted in love, and remain rooted in love no matter what transpires during the conversation, then our arguments will be based in love. Our motive will be our expression of love, and our expression will be evidence of love. Our expression will be patient, kind, gracious, and truthful. If our motive is to “win,” our expression may become impatient, unkind, boastful, insistent, irritable, resentful, and we may rejoice at “shutting someone down.” There is an element of dishonesty in a conversation or argument like that, where the claim doesn’t live up to the words of a person.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Thank you, Chris.
Excellent verse and a great diagnostic of what is loving and what is not.
I agree, great verse and comments CH. I will simply add another potentially applicable passage:
Ephesians 4: 14 – 16: Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
How can we check to make certain our arguments are based in love (agapē)?
Isaiah 1:18, Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
1. Jesus questioned the questions of others, Matthew 21:23-25,
2. Jesus ignore antagonist as we continued to do what God had called him to do. Mark 5:36.
3. Throughout the gospels, Jesus addressed sinners publicly, showed them grace, and never compromised who He was.
Believers are not born of the flesh, we became believers, spiritually alive, as we responded to Gods call and have been empowered by God to serve His purposes on earth. We reason with, reveal truths to those brought into our sphere of influence by God. We do this in the most effective manner presented by God as He works through us.
R2T2