40 Days of Words | Day 13
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of Words
Day 13|TWO THINGS WE MUST NOT DO | Titus 3:2
40 Days of Words
Day 13|TWO THINGS WE MUST NOT DO | Titus 3:2
TWO THINGS WE MUST NOT DO
Titus 3:2
“They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling.”
We are living in strange times. Our country is divided like never before except perhaps during the Civil War of the 1860s. It seems the dueling points of view – conservative vs. progressive – has become so vitriolic that it’s nearly impossible to discuss rationally with someone from another point of view without things de-evolving into name-calling and some form of hatred.
In this verse – as relevant today as when written nearly 2000 years ago – believers… Followers of Jesus are commanded to: “not slander anyone” and to “avoid quarreling.”
It starts quickly enough. We strike up a casual conversation with a friend, neighbor, work colleague, or someone else. Often, we use these opening conversations to determine if the other person is “on our side” about an issue. Then if they say something that shows even one little thing that you disagree with, we often pounce on that as an opening to explain how wrong they are and how right we are. This causes a volume and intensity increase from the other side, and the whole thing often escalates into a heated argument with no clear winners or concessions but with a dislike of the other person.
God knows this and passed the wisdom to Paul, who shared it in his letter to Titus.
Slander means: “for someone to tell one or more others an untruth about another which will hurt the reputation of the person being defamed.”
Quarreling means: “an interaction in which the parties involved express angry disagreement with one another.” (Or I might call it: “word rage”!)
This verse does not prohibit sharing our opinions, beliefs, or ideas with someone else, but it does tell us to avoid slandering and quarreling. Both of which are an inefficient use of our words.
Prayer: LORD, help me have the wisdom I need to know when a good time to discuss something important with someone is. And help me not to let it evolve into either slander or quarreling. Amen.
Titus 3:2
“They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling.”
We are living in strange times. Our country is divided like never before except perhaps during the Civil War of the 1860s. It seems the dueling points of view – conservative vs. progressive – has become so vitriolic that it’s nearly impossible to discuss rationally with someone from another point of view without things de-evolving into name-calling and some form of hatred.
In this verse – as relevant today as when written nearly 2000 years ago – believers… Followers of Jesus are commanded to: “not slander anyone” and to “avoid quarreling.”
It starts quickly enough. We strike up a casual conversation with a friend, neighbor, work colleague, or someone else. Often, we use these opening conversations to determine if the other person is “on our side” about an issue. Then if they say something that shows even one little thing that you disagree with, we often pounce on that as an opening to explain how wrong they are and how right we are. This causes a volume and intensity increase from the other side, and the whole thing often escalates into a heated argument with no clear winners or concessions but with a dislike of the other person.
God knows this and passed the wisdom to Paul, who shared it in his letter to Titus.
Slander means: “for someone to tell one or more others an untruth about another which will hurt the reputation of the person being defamed.”
Quarreling means: “an interaction in which the parties involved express angry disagreement with one another.” (Or I might call it: “word rage”!)
This verse does not prohibit sharing our opinions, beliefs, or ideas with someone else, but it does tell us to avoid slandering and quarreling. Both of which are an inefficient use of our words.
Prayer: LORD, help me have the wisdom I need to know when a good time to discuss something important with someone is. And help me not to let it evolve into either slander or quarreling. Amen.