2 Timothy 2:20-26
Leaving Space for God to Work

In a large house there are utensils not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for special use, some for ordinary. All who cleanse themselves of the things I have mentioned will become special utensils, dedicated and useful to the owner of the house, ready for every good work. Shun youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with stupid and senseless controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth, and that they may escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

New Revised Standard Version

We in western civilizations in the 21st century love heroes. Some sociologists say this comes from the mythology of the American West, where the lone gunman in a white hat spoke as few words as were necessary as he put bad guys in jail or "six feet under," then rode off into the ever-present sunset. The rugged individual ready to fight for what is right against all odds gains our admiration over and over again in movies, books, and television shows. Just think -- when was the last time you saw a television show about police work where the hero always did everything by the book?

We see that in our religious life as well, if we're not careful. We praise the preacher who demonstrates the courage to "tell it like it is," especially when it upsets the status quo, because we admire the courage to confront those "other people" who need confronting. Don't get me wrong, the Bible is full of people who were ordained by God to preach disruptive, confrontational messages! Just quickly, I think of Nathan confronting King David, scores of prophets confronting corrupt kings, John the Baptist out in the wilderness, Stephen brought before the Sanhedrin -- and we can get our own dose of chastisement reading James. However, when we look closer, we must give equal time to quiet heroes like Queen Esther, the prophet Hosea, the disciple Philip inviting others simply to "come and see," the divine calm of Jesus before Pontius Pilate, and Paul, at times such a patient teacher that he once had a listener drift asleep and fall out a window. (Okay, I know Acts attributes the sleeping worshiper to the late hour...)

To bring this into today's terms, we lean towards recognizing and praising the visible, courageous, bold, outspoken Christian. We want our preachers to be direct and to the point in calling sinners to salvation like Billy Graham. We admire our witnesses who confront people on the streets asking where they would go if they died today. We wish we all had the courage and drive to turn every conversation into an opportunity for testimony, because we don't want to account in heaven for opportunities where we should have taken action and instead held back.

Our hero worship dies hard. We cannot hold our preachers and street evangelists responsible for changing the hearts of sinners, for only God can change a heart. We don't want to admit that we do not have the ability to carry out God's work on our own, but that is the truth. We measure ourselves on taking action, but we confuse action with humble obedience. All we are supposed to do is to present ourselves for God to use -- not the other way around.

That seems to me what Paul is teaching Timothy, a young pastor with a growing church. The latter part of this scripture passage sounds very little like our idealized evangelist. Paul doesn't advise boldness, but patience and kindness. Paul cautions against confrontation, saying Timothy should avoid being quarrelsome, for fear that the argument being debated will draw his flock away from what God wants to teach. The most telling is how we should respond to opponents -- with gentleness, so that God will have the opportunity to lead them to the truth. When God says confront, we must be bold like Amos and confront, of course! When we say confront, Paul says we are liable to drive others deeper into the "snare of the devil." It is a frightening thought that our eagerness to serve God may do the opposite!

Paul elsewhere writes that every part of the body of believers is valuable, just as every part of the human body is important. This teaching explains how this can be so. The less noticed parts, those called to do invisible and unappreciated tasks, are to do those jobs in humility as an offering for God to use in miraculous ways. The more noticed parts, those called to do the very visible and obviously appreciated tasks, are to do those jobs in humility as an offering for God to use in miraculous ways, in just the same way. We know a sound technician cannot turn enough knobs to convince a sinner to pray to Jesus for salvation. In exactly the same way, a witness or a preacher cannot say enough human-inspired words to truly change a sinner's heart. Only God can take our words and change lives. But that same God can take our twisting knobs and change lives, too. God can take a baby blanket in a church nursery, or a stack of paper towels in a restroom, and change lives. God can even take dirt and rocks and change a sinner's heart, if God chooses.

It becomes a matter of our service to God. Will we choose to let God use us, in the way that God has called us to serve? Will we then, in our service, be a humble, obedient servant, and let God work?