Boy, that title even rhymes! The Bible is full of bizarre suggestions, “Do the opposite of your natural inclination and it will work.” Such as:
- Choose to walk two miles when forced to walk one!
- When struck on one cheek, do not defend or counter-attack. Roll with it and try to find out where the attack is coming from!
- When cursed–bless!
- When badly used–do good to the user!
- The first shall be last and the last shall be first.
- Rejoice when persecuted-you are in good company.
- etc. etc. etc.
Now it tells me to win arguments by not arguing.
And the servant of God must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient.
2 Timothy 2:24
When others pick a fight and I recognize a fool is trying to mess with me, do not respond to the topic that they have picked, e.g., “Why does a good god allow evil?” or “How can he allow little children to suffer?” Instead, gently confront them on their real issue by saying,
“In my life, I’ve always found that when I ask questions like that it is because there is SIN in me and I don’t want to deal with it. Or it is because I want to be my own god, in charge of my own choices, guarding my own rights. So I pick a fight with God and then make myself my own god. I wonder if, like me, there is some sin that you are struggling with or desire to be seen as wise and be in control so you ask these questions?”
Or, “those are great questions, maybe we could get together and try to see what God’s word has to say about it.” So the approach is “we are more alike than you think.
My daughter Cheri has a blog – christianscience4kids – and is somewhat bothered by all the heathen attacking her. More bothersome are the “Christians” that fight for the theory that God created beauty and life through quintillions of miserable deaths. Cheri has to DISAGREE but is kind and willing to relate remembering that they have been purchased by Christ’s blood and praying that the Holy Spirit might grant them repentance and free them from the clutches of the devil. They, however, are not civil, using the devil’s tool of taking up a fault to justify their abuse because “they are doing it for the children,” Also bothersome are the Christians who believe the truth about God spoken creation but attack and treat like dirt those who disagree with them.
I once got up in church to share from God’s Word that in the end times there would be people who knew that God had spoken all things into existence but because of their lust (desire to argue and control) would argue for unchanging forces that work slowly over vast spaces of time. A gentleman came up to me and said rather loudly, “So you are saying that we who believe in God-guided evolution are lustful? I replied that I was not saying anything but simply quoting 2 Peter 3:3-15
“Well!” He declared, “This discussion is over!” He then marched away.
What discussion? In the church, he was known to love arguing and was probably afraid to stop and look at the Word lest he discover how God’s thoughts were vastly beyond his own. I would have loved to help him walk away from a knowledge that puffs up approach and find a knowledge with agape love approach which brings wisdom. He gave me no opening.
Jesus prayed, “Father don’t take them out of the world just keep them from sin while they are in the world.” Whatever the heathen do, we Christians should agree to disagree and still like and love and relate to others that disagree with us; if they will let us. Romans 12:18
If we must suffer, let us suffer for being right with a good attitude not for being right with a bad attitude.
verlebellmd.com 