4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him . . . 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. – 2 Timothy 2:4,16-17
I get distracted easy. With the best intentions, I still manage to get sucked into Facebook’s endless stream of recipes and funny baby videos. Even the best of us will get sucked into the most absurd realities of this life from time to time. And while Christ followers will no doubt partake in these, how we partake should be different.
Will this matter in a year?
Recently on social media, I have been frustrated with a friend who posts from a specific viewpoint I don’t support. I noticed with each post, the more upset I got and the more likely I was to post a response. Actually, I wrote many a quick witted reply before erasing it in a moment of shalom saving clarity. Sometimes, when put in this situation, I ask will this matter in a year? I look to the future to gauge whether or not this is “irreverent babble” or not. The truth is, there is no way this encounter would have ended well. Every scenario I played out, ended in ungodliness and would have never pleased the One who enlisted me.
On a more common level, workplace chatter and coffee date conversations are just as likely to be wrought with this level of babble. It is easy to go down the rabbit hole when you are in an environment you feel safe in (i.e. your friends). Gossip, malice, and pointless chatter are easy to permit when you’re unified by friendship.
So today, we must find a way to do the will of an enlisted one. Just as you guard against such triviality, remember to disregard the same talk in others. You will be talked against and slandered in this life, yet you must rise above the useless noise to a higher way of being. This is the elevated road of Jesus we must be disciplined to tread. You can judge a person’s heart by the conversations they do and do not have. Our words, especially as believers, have a burden to them that can make or break our reputation.
May your identity be secure today.
Matt simon blog 