We Are Not Called to Be Argumentative

<p>The man in the sky club who asked me what I did for a living was so excited it was suspicious. I thought that maybe he wanted to hear more about the Bible. It turned out that he wanted a debate. I’m not into debates. I’d rather engage with a willing participant in a respectful dialogue than get into a lengthy dispute with someone who feels like they’ve finally found their sparring partner for the day. And when it’s a complete stranger, I really can’t inspire myself to quarrel. Why argue with someone I don’t know when I could do that with people I do know? Haha! But seriously, this was a gospel opportunity, as long as I didn’t mess it up by becoming argumentative.</p> <p>People are so confrontational today, and they feel emboldened because it’s popular to be against things that are good and for things that are destructive. It didn’t take long for this stranger to identify himself as a proud unbeliever, which made me politely and carefully respond to him while gradually ending the conversation. I concluded with a string of Bible verses quoted from memory. His face changed as I quoted Scripture, and I knew that the Bible was doing what I could not do. There is a spirit in every human, and while it can’t be reached by arguments, it can be penetrated by the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.</p> <p>We need to be careful in this generation, because we’re always on duty as ambassadors for Christ. If you go toe-to-toe with someone, trying to have the last word while matching wits, you could win an argument while losing an opportunity to represent Christ. God didn’t call us to debate, He called us to copy Him. He came to seek and to save that which was lost, not to argue and push them deeper into darkness.</p> <p>There are reasons why unbelievers don’t understand believers, and we make the division worse when we get into arguments just to score points. Let’s consider just a few reasons why there is this communication gap, considering our own roles and making sure that we’re not becoming repellant or annoyin