Friday 26 October 2007
- Bible Book:
- 2 Timothy
"Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. ...Avoid profane chatter, for it will lead people into more and more impiety, and their talk will spread like gangrene". (v. 14, 16-17a)
Background
Like the letters to Philemon and Titus, the two letters toTimothy are different from the rest of the New Testament letters asthey are addressed to individuals rather than groups of believers.Timothy was a young man who was leader of the church in Ephesus(Western Turkey) and the letters to him are to encourage and assisthim in his work.
Hymenaeus and Philetus are false teachers, negative examples incontrast to the faithful ones of Paul and Jesus Christ. Philetus issomeone we don't read of anywhere else in the New Testament, butHymenaeus crops up in the first letter to Timothy - one of thepeople Paul has "turned over to Satan, so that they may learn notto blaspheme" (1 Timothy 1:20). It would seem that Hymenaeus isstill saying things that should not be heard from aChristian.
Don't argue about words because it does no good, the letter says.Is that because such arguments waste time, or because words areunimportant?
But it is not only words that are mentioned. Timothy is to presenthimself as a worker. How do we achieve the right balance betweenwords and action?
To Ponder
What do you think the author of this letter toTimothy would have to say to us about our use of words in an age ofspin?
Have you ever sent an e-mail or text as a quickresponse - with later regrets?
Think about this week's news stories and howwords have been used. Will they be like gangrene or help in thecause of truth?