This morning I was praying through a challenge we are currently navigating, and the Lord brought this passage to mind:
Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (2 Tim 2:22–26)
Everyone who leads will face opposition. We can wish it were otherwise, but this is part of our reality this side of heaven. The fleas come with the dog, so to speak.
When facing opposition it is all too easy to become angry and mistreat those who oppose you. To seek to overpower those who would oppose you through political maneuvering, belittling or speaking ill of them, to simply marginalize or replace those who prove difficult to lead – leaders need to recognize these as real temptations and run away.
The saints who have come before us presciently warned that the three biggest challenges to the spiritual life are sex, money, and power. The temptations of sex and money – lust, covetousness, greed, materialism – are typically pretty easy for us to see. But sins that deal with power are another story. The leader who dominates others, is prone to outbursts of anger, or who quietly but deliberately plants seeds of doubt about his opponents is rarely corrected, and in fact is sometimes praised as a strong leader!
I once heard Dallas Willard say, “Jesus is looking for men and women he can trust with power.” This is a pretty good description of spiritual leadership, isn’t it? We as leaders wield tremendous power, and we need to seek God to shape us into those who will use it wisely.
That’s how I read Paul’s words to Timothy:
Pursue growth in Jesus – “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace . . .” Are we seeking him first? Are we growing? Are we men and women of the Word, of prayer, worshipers, servants? This is the primary task of every leader.
Choose your battles – “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.” Make good choices. Quarrelsomeness is opposed to servanthood. Don’t go down paths that will lead to battles not worth fighting.
Keep your heart clean – “the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.” Forgive quickly. Don’t allow yourself the luxury of holding a grudge. Give no quarter to bitterness. (How difficult is this? I know of no better way to do cultivate a graceful heart than the daily praying of the Lord’s Prayer and praying for those with whom we are angry.)
Teach gently – “Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth . . .” Don’t lash out, build a coalition against the person, try to overpower or outmaneuver. Be patient and deliberate. Gently instruct. Truth communicated in love, not power, is what is needed.
Know your true enemy – “ . . . and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” Your good hearted opponent is not the enemy, Satan is (caveat: I say good hearted on the assumption that the majority of our opposition is. Those who are truly divisive are a different story – see Titus 3:10-11). And the Enemy is at work sowing seeds of discord, stirring up strife, trying to splinter a church’s unity. Do we fix this by making a power move? Yes and no. We make the biggest power move of all – we pray. We love. We gently instruct. And we trust that as we keep ourselves right, the God who love his Church will be responsible to keep others right as well.
May the Lord of the church, who loves us as and gave himself for us, who is gracious with us in our failings, give us grace for those good saints with whom we find ourselves in opposition.
