2 Timothy 2:22-26

2 Timothy 2:22-26 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. Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 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.

Have you ever tried to argue a person out of a position he or she has taken? You were probably not very successful. When we argue we are usually inadvertently highlighting self. In a dispute, self always has truth on its side. Self clamors, "If only you would listen to me, then you would have great wisdom too." Of course, all arguing is not wrong, for sometimes people hold to positions that are destructive and hurtful to themselves or others; therefore, they need direct confrontation about such ideas and activities, but usually we must be careful when we are contentious.

Notice the above scripture says to flee the evil desires of youth, or youthful lust (KJV). We tend to place evil desires too readily into the context of just sexual sins. Of course this has that contextual meaning too, but evil desires are much more than sexual sins or immorality. It has to do with the way people, especially youths or young men, view the world. Youthful lust is primarily a self-centered attitude: a desire to highlight self, to fulfill self-desires at the expense of others. Why? Young men in particular fight, argue, and kick the ground like angry bulls to prove that they should take home the prize, which is usually the lovely maiden. They need to win every confrontation. Their testosterone driven activities are to highlight self, to place themselves above the rest. They seek opportunities to display their physical or intellectual prowess, so the young women of the world will flock to their doors. Therefore, a young man is quick to act, to confront, to show off. Although others are prone to such faults, we see them magnified in the young.

Paul says, flee from these harmful attitudes; instead, pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. How hard it is for a young man to stand out in the competition of life if he pursues such innocuous traits. Women are supposed to pursue these traits, not men, not warriors. For a warrior it is much easier to stand out, to stand on the dais, if he knocks a few heads together, if he wins the wrestling match, shoots the winning basket, runs into the end zone for a touchdown, punches someone in the nose, drives a car too fast, or wins a bristling, contentious argument. Then he will stand out; then everyone will know who he is, especially the women he wants to impress. The crowd will cheer him and tell of his wonderful exploits, but who will cheer the young lad who is full of the innocuous traits of a young man pursuing righteousness. Maybe mom will or a few milk-toast fellow travelers, but surely the world won't recognize the youth who chooses a servant's path as being brave and daring, a person with qualities, a person deserving the fair maiden.

A self-centered, self-highlighting attitude is the way of the world. But Jesus turned the world upside down. He said you must be a servant to all, must be kind to everyone, must gently instruct, must be pure in heart. A person must pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace and not be filled with a youthful nature of self-gratification, confrontation, and exploitation. Whoever will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven will be a servant to all. The great in the kingdom of God are servants, for that is Christ's spirit. Jesus came to serve. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:5) The servants are those who have nothing to do with foolish and stupid arguments; these are the people who win the crown in God's kingdom. They not only escape the traps set by the devil, but they lead others to the safety of God's house.