It’s an election year, which brings out the crazy in us all. And this election, everyone has a social media account, which gives us all a place to air our craziness. You see a hilarious video about liberals or conservatives, and you can’t stop yourself from re-posting it. You see someone post a slanderous video about your favorite candidate, and you can’t stop yourself from responding to it. Or they post something about Christianity, and you feel the need to defend your beliefs. I can’t just let that go unanswered! you say to yourself. Shots fired.

Well, Paul saw all this coming a few thousand years ago, and he gave us some profound wisdom for engaging people we disagree with in a Christ-like way:

Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. (2 Tim 2:23-26)

Paul’s giving us three rules for posting on Facebook, talking to antagonistic family members, or entering workplace debates:

1. Don’t be quarrelsome.
He says, “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone.” Does that mean we can never disagree with anyone? No way! Earlier in his letters to Timothy, he said things like, “Fight the good fight of faith.” … “Be a good soldier
of Christ Jesus.” We’re supposed to fight for the gospel.

He defines being quarrelsome in the previous verse: “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.” Have you ever seen a Facebook debate that wasn’t a foolish, ignorant controversy? Yeah. Don’t argue about things that won’t really matter in eternity.

Instead, bring gospel truth to bear on the situation. Be “able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting opponents with gentleness.” And the way Paul phrases that, he’s saying that it’s your gentleness that will be what corrects your opponent, not your killer debate skills or your airtight arguments. It’s your kindness that’s your greatest weapon in a fight.

We’re called to be kind to the people we disagree with, and this is easier when we follow rule #2:

2. Recognize your true enemy.
It’s not the people who oppose you. Paul says they’re “in the snare of the devil.” He says they’ve been “captured by him to do his will.” In Ephesians 6, Paul says, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Your true enemy isn’t the people who are opposing you. It’s the spiritual forces of evil who are opposing you! It’s Satan and his demons. The people who disagree with you are just his prisoners. You’re not really at war with them, you’re at war with the one who enslaved them. You can be kind and gentle toward them because you know that you were just like them until Jesus transformed your heart and mind. And if you’re really honest with yourself, you’re still a lot like them in many ways.

We only have one enemy. That’s Satan, and he’s already been defeated at the cross. The war’s already been won. And so that leads to rule #3:

3. Remember your real mission.
It’s not to win a war. It’s not to obliterate an enemy. That’s already been accomplished. Your real mission is to see more people saved by Jesus. Paul says you should correct your opponents with gentleness so that “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil.”

Your real mission is to see people saved from their slavery to Satan. To see them freed by the grace of Jesus Christ. To see them transformed by the power of the Holy Sprit. I’ve never seen someone lose a debate and then put his trust in Jesus. I’ve never seen someone argued into the kingdom.

That’s just not the way God works. It’s his kindness that leads the people who oppose him to repentance (Rom 2:4). Why would we ever act any different toward the people who oppose us?