II Tim. 2:8-15 (II): Remembering and Reminding (II)

Even though there is so much to remember about faith as we speak or lead, there is also an urgency to remind people about important things. Here the reminder is about words and the way we say them. I want to emphasize this point, because what is at stake in vv. 14-15 is not so much the content of the words we say as the way in which they are said. We are not to "wrangle" over words (v. 14); we are to "rightly handle" the word of truth. These phrases or words stress the manner in which we make our presentation of the Gospel. So much emphasis is often given to the content of the chosen message that we often ignore the tone of the treasure. And, in my experience, it is most often the tone that either opens a door further or shuts that door. I have often listened to people who think that the reason people reject, or don't listen closely, to the words they say is because of the content of what they are saying. I sometimes have to inform them sadly that it is the way they are presenting things that is the bigger obstacle than the message they have to bring.

So, what does this passage have to say about proper presentation? It tells us two things: avoid unhelpful "wrangles," and "explain rightly." The first has to do with fighting over words, the second has to do with the clarity of what we say. Let me say a word about each.

A. Fighting Over Words

The Greek text actually uses the word logomachy, which has come into our language precisely as that word, and which means "fighting over words." But rather than just denouncing our "fights over words," I think I need to take a more subtle approach to communication. All communication is a means of persuasion. We use words to try to describe or define the world for ourselves and then to convince others that our view of the world is a good or true one. But we are all groping in the dark, even though we have illumination along the way. Part and parcel of our attempt to define the world is coming up with the right words--words which we think describe the world accurately or, to use a mathematical image, that are "tangent" to (i.e., "touching") reality. It is incredibly difficult to come up with the right words and we often end up adopting others' words. We do this for two reasons--because we don't have the time to "invent the wheel" and because they, who work on these issues "full time" have probably thought through a variety of ways to express something before landing on the appropriate phrase or word.

But there is a danger in adopting others' words to describe reality around us. Often their words arise out of a world-view or an approach to a problem that isn't helpful for us. For example, in describing aspects of the War in Iraq, is it more "accurate" or helpful to describe it as a "sectarian strife," or "an insurgency," or a "civil war"? This is a tough one, but it shows that the words we use are often laden with lots of weight or baggage which needs also to be understood.

The direction of the passage for the morning, however, is that there are good words to use or, alternatively, better or worse words to use to describe what we have before us. We have the whole dictionary before us to describe the phenomena at our fingertips. There are better and worse ways of describing it. The passage encourages us not to "fight over words," but to "rightly divide" the words---to come up with the best possible words for the situation.

It is inevitable that we have some fights over words. Fights are inevitable because of the nature of human communication and different interests that various people have in speaking. The exhortation in this passage, however is to eliminate useless fights over words. Let me give you an example of a useless fight over words in which I am currently engaged. I am, thanks to a book I wrote in 2001, considered a sort of "expert" on the death penalty in Oregon. As such, I am often asked to give speeches on the subject; I will be involved in a debate with a prominent district attorney on the subject in a few weeks. We are current hashing out "the rules" of the debate. Because we are lawyers, and because lawyers like to frame things their way and try to get the advantage, I perceive that my "opponent" is trying to do that. I had this passage in mind yesterday as I wrote an email to the moderator, a distinguished jurist in the state, to try to "make things fair" in the debate. I was careful to try to emphasize that my proposal was "consistent" with my opponent's, even though I am not sure he would see things that way. But I wanted to end the "wrangle" over words, the "logomachy," and move to the real purpose of the debate--the substance.

B. Rightly Dividing

Which is exactly where this passage takes us...The exhortation to the disciple is to "rightly divide" the word of truth. Again the Greek word here is instructive. It is "orthotomonta." We know that the word "orthodonture" means "right teeth," and orthotomonta means "right cutting." The verb temno means "to slice" or "to cut" in Greek. Thus, the disciple is urged to "cut things right" when s/he speaks. To me that means that the servant of God is to be a verbal straight shooter. It means that we tell the truth. It means that we try to represent the verbal battles that are swirling around us with words that allow us to get to the substance of what is at issue rather than the background noise which is the mere tangling over words.

I say this because we live in a culture where the background noise, or the buzz, or the rhetoric can overtake us more than the content of the issue before us. We have a phrase for this--we say a person has given more "heat than light" to clarifying a situation. We mean by this that the person's words, or passion, or attitude has so affected them that we are left more with the person than with the issue. The Apostolic exhortation here, as I read it, is for servants of God to pay particular attention to expositing the substance of things, in words that are carefuly chosen for that purpose.

Conclusion

I am delighted that we are urged to think about the way we communicate here. Nothing could be more timely in our over-emotionalized speech today. Take care with your speech; you will be doing the Gospel a service...

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