“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.” (2 Timothy 2: 23)
Paul wrote this to Timothy as a pastor, but it applies just as well to people in any kind of relationship—especially relationships that lean toward lots of drama. It happens most often in middle school and on reality TV shows, but sadly it doesn’t end there.
I’m talking about the daily soap opera of who is mad at whom and what she said to her and how that person is giving that other one the silent treatment until he says sorry for talking to that other guy about that one thing. Ugh. Paul didn’t want Timothy to get himself sucked into all those “foolish and stupid arguments.”
Why? Because they’re a worthless waste of time. We believe the lie that it is our job to hold everyone accountable for how they treat us, to protect ourselves from everyone who is unkind to us. What God really wants is for us to forgive, let it go quickly, and believe that our job is to hold ourselves accountable for how we treat everyone and to refuse to be unkind to anybody.
Think: How much time do you spend feeling resentful and thinking about how others treated you unkindly? What can you do to let go of hurt feelings more quickly and start giving away kindness to unkind people?
Pray: Ask God to help you to skip or quickly drop out of any stupid and foolish arguments that come your way this week.
Do: If you’ve been stuck in a stupid argument with someone, make a plan to tell that person you’re sorry, you forgive him or her, and you’re letting it go. Then really let it go.