PODCAST
No Fighting Zone
December 26th, 2012
2 Timothy 2:14-26
Growing up in the family of a traveling evangelist, my brother and I spent a lot of time in the backseat of our station wagon together. Occasionally our squabbling would reach a boiling point, and my mom would turn around and say, “Okay! This is a ‘No Fighting Zone!’”
Paul’s message to Timothy seems to be the same. Paul is very clear that quarrelsome, godless talk leads only to one thing: gangrene of the spirit. Spiritual gangrene spreads quickly, and rather than producing growth, it inhibits growth and actually brings death.
We protect ourselves from this threat not by engaging it but by shutting ourselves off from it. In every culture and country, unimportant arguments abound. We might be tempted to stick around and fight against wrongdoing, but Paul clearly advises us to seek after the good and just abandon what isn’t. Christ is our example.
Ask the Lord to show you anything in your life that might lead to spiritual gangrene, and ask for his help to “pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace” (v. 22).
Author: Michaele LaVigne
