Foolish Controversies
May 4, 2011
Dear Friends,
What makes a “foolish controversy?” In Bible class this past week we were studying this passage found in Titus 3. Verse 9 in this chapter says,
But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.(NIV)
We asked the question, “what makes a controversy worth fighting for versus one that is foolish?” Foolishness is in the eye of the beholder and all controversies are not created equal. The Apostle Paul, the author of this passage, was himself deeply engaged in many controversies in his time. In fact, other than Jesus, it is hard to think of a more controversial person in the New Testament. Both Jesus and Paul saw issues that were worth fighting for. We are told “live peaceably with all men” (Rom. 12:18), but again, both Jesus and Paul were unable to do so because they couldn’t let some issues go unchallenged. Both Jesus and Paul suffered tremendously as a result of the controversies in which they were engaged.
As a writer of this weekly thought whose main purpose is to get us thinking more deeply about God, the Bible and ourselves in that context, I have had to mull over the idea of foolish controversies. Each week I have had to consider what issues are worth bringing up versus how much potential controversy would arise. Is there a good “payback to controversy” ratio? For some issues, the payback is obvious. My journey through salvation by works in the early 2000s (that resulted in the publication of The Judaizers), for example, was a highly controversial topic, but one that I deemed worthy of consideration nevertheless. Yet, there are topics that are simply not worthy of consideration in my opinion because they are too controversial and the payback is so small. For example, I know that if I wrote a TFTW on the appropriate dress for going to meeting, it would get a huge response. It doesn’t matter what position I took on this issue. I could take the “wear your best” approach or the “it doesn’t matter what you wear but what is in your heart” approach. In either case, the response would be huge and immediate. Positions would be taken. Emotions would run high. They payback for such a highly charged conversation would be minimal.
One of my good friends went to a college associated with the Church of Christ. He often talks about how the Church of Christ is divided by the musical instruments controversy. Some CoC churches think it is wrong to have musical instruments while others have them. To them, this is a huge deal and worthy of considerable time and energy to debate endlessly. To many others (myself included), the whole argument is absurd. Who cares? Well, they do — passionately. Meanwhile, I am sure that if you explained to the Church of Christ some of the things that we argue about they would think we had lost our minds.
So it comes back to the question – what makes a foolish controversy?
Here are some questions I think we need to ask ourselves before we enter into controversial areas.
1. Is the issue worth talking about? Some issues like “genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law” just aren’t worthy of our time and energy, much less the pain and problems that come from upsetting people. We need to pick our battles carefully. Think to yourself “if we have to debate this topic as a body for the next hundred years because I brought it up, is it a profitable use of our time?” Sometimes the answer will be “yes.” Most of the time the answer should be “no.”
2.Will this upset people? If so, why are they going to be upset? This question of whether or not we will upset people may seem like the key question, but it is not. The key is not whether people will be upset, but why they will be upset. If the issue is vital and people will be upset, we may want to bring it up nevertheless. Israel’s prophet continually upset the people with good cause.
3.Is there a way to present this important material in a way that will minimize the controversy? Sometimes it is more how we say things than what we say. A little diplomacy can go a long way. However, we need to be careful not to water down God’s truth for the sake of being politically correct.
4.What is the payback? In other words, what are we trying to accomplish by bringing the issue up in the first place? Will this help people draw closer to God? Is this a vital issue that needs correcting? Is this going to help people in their walk? We need to be very careful in this area. Many foolish controversies have been introduced by linking sides issues to main issues. You can justify talking about anything by connecting it to first principles. It goes something like this using our clothing example above. How we dress at meeting is a part of worship. How we worship God is a vital issue. Therefore, how we dress at meeting is a vital issue that must be addressed. Any issue must stand on its own merits, not by linking it to some greater cause.
5.What are our motives? Are we trying to help people? Are we glorifying God? Are we doing this for bad motives like showing people how smart we are or to annoy someone we don’t like?
It also bears mentioning in the context of this subject that it takes two to make a controversy. There are people who seem to do nothing but find fault with what other people say or write. They seem to think that no one is entitled to an opinion except them. When other people say or write things we don’t agree with, we need to ask ourselves the same questions above before responding negatively. Personally, I think the best approach 99% of the time is to just walk away. If someone says something or writes something you don’t agree with, it is just their opinion and everyone is entitled to an opinion. If it happens in our own ecclesias, that is a different matter. Each ecclesia has the right to have its own uniform teaching position. Outside of our own ecclesias, who are we to set ourselves up as the final arbiter of what is true? We, as a body, have rejected papal-like authoritarian rule. Unless we are willing to establish such a system with the right to dictate to everyone what is and what is not authoritative, we had best learn to live with differences of opinion and be able to handle controversial areas in the spirit of Christ.
Have a great week,
Comments»
No comments yet.