Flee!

“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace... Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.” - 2 Timothy 2:22-24

Two things occur to me as I read these verses from 2 Timothy.

First, he begins with an exhortation to flee the evil desires of youth or "youthful passions" (NRSV). Exactly what youthful desires and passions does he have in mind? At very least, the ones mentioned in the next verses: foolish and stupid arguments, quarrels. Flee these things.

What occurs to me when reading those verses is: We don’t flee this stuff. We actually invite it into our lives, every single day. You'd better cancel your cable subscription and delete your Facebook and Twitter accounts, if you don't want to have anything to do with "foolish and stupid arguments." Even if we're only watching, liking, or sharing those things we agree with, comfortably insulated from any other opinions by cable news biases and social media algorithms that feed us the content we prefer, we're still participating in those arguments. We're allowing one side to inform us and shape our perspectives (both of the topic and of any people who disagree), while we cheer them on in fighting the good fight. As long as we're interacting with partisan political or culture wars content online, we are very much having something to do with foolish and stupid arguments. And while some folks do their best to avoid that sort of content on social media, I imagine most of us join in with relish, running towards those youthful passions, rather than fleeing from them.

But there's something else I notice, while reading in 2 Timothy 2. He rejects, outright, any quarrelling among Christians. If your “faithfulness” leads you to be quarrelsome, it’s not faithfulness at all. Your convictions may be biblical and true, but the actions your convictions have resulted in are in defiance of scripture. If you find yourself getting into a heated argument anytime a certain topic comes up, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and rethink how your convictions need to be expressed and practiced in your life. That may be normal, acceptable behavior in our world today, but "it will not be so among you." (Matthew 20:26) Far from reflecting the normal, acceptable behaviors in our world, followers of Jesus are implored: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Rom 12:2) If we sound just like everyone else, that's a pretty good indicator that our minds have not been renewed.

Of course, it's one thing to read 2 Timothy or read my words and think 'Yeah! It's time to stop all the fighting and quarreling'. It's another thing to take concrete steps to remove quarrelsome voices from your life. After all, one compelling Bible verse usually can't stand up to the tidal wave of media influences that crashes into our brains every day.

So what step do you need to take? What app do you need to open less often—or delete entirely? What show should you probably skip tonight? Who should you mute on your Facebook feed, because their posts always leave you hankering for a fight? 

Flee those who know how to stir up "the evil desires of youth" in you. Instead, find another voice or pastime that encourages you in the pursuit of righteousness, faith, love, and peace.

You can also listen to this week's devotional!