In our earlier episode, we were introduced to Zedekiah’s hostile slap on his colleague Micaiah for disagreeing with the former’s prophecy. It was established that similar reactions towards apologetics and polemics is not surprising. It may not be a physical slap, but people who speak unpopular truth or oppose popular falsehoods often face the anger of affected clerics and their followers. Today, we will focus on how Micaiah handles this work hazard and take a lesson or two.
‘Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit from the Lord go from me to speak to you?” And Micaiah said, “Indeed, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide!”’ (1 Kings 22:24-25, NKJV)
In the assignment of defending our faith inwardly or outwardly, being belligerent smears us with defeat. Breaking down suggests we have been beaten. Although it seems impossible to defend our faith dispassionately, we must learn from the example of Prophet Micaiah. He spoke the truth, undressed the lie, pronounced doom and screamed caution even while he was being bundled for prison. Yet, he did not fight back when Zedekiah slapped him. He chose his battles wisely. He was not on a personal mission to give a showdown. He was there at the Master’s sanction to do His bidding.
Micaiah’s courteousness is exemplary. It takes graciousness to receive an undeserved slap and go ahead to counsel your abuser right after. I think it takes more than being a gentleman to demonstrate such gentleness. This should be a man anchored in the peace of God and spiced with grace from Him. Gentility ties in with our next lesson from Micaiah. But I will like us to look at what God tells us about gentleness in the assignment of apologetics and polemics.
“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always BE READY TO EXPLAIN it. But DO THIS IN A GENTLE AND RESPECTFUL WAY. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live BECAUSE YOU BELONG TO CHRIST. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!” (1 Peter 3:15-17, NLT)
Speaking gently and respectfully is typical and expected of ambassadors of Christ. Apostle Peter explains that conducting ourselves gently towards outsiders is in itself a testimony for Christ. You must be “gentle and respectful…because you belong to Christ.” While this attitude does not immunize us from “suffering for doing good” and explaining our faith, it is better to suffer for speaking the truth (if God pleases) “than to suffer for doing wrong.”
By God’s standard, the right thing to do is to speak with grace and season our speech with salt “that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” (Colossians 4:6) Therefore, another advantage gentleness gives is that it provides the peace tempo for continuous interaction. Knowing how to answer effectively is connected to gracious and salted speech, according to Apostle Paul. When we tranquilize the heat, we give a better hit at the issues.
As a qualification, God expects church leaders to preach sound doctrine faithfully. Furthermore, they should “convict those who contradict” (observe the legal term “convict” in the NKJV) or ‘show those who oppose it [“wholesome teaching”] where they are wrong’ and silence ‘rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others’ (Titus 1:9-11, NLT). The mandate of wholesome teaching is paired with the duty of exposing false teachings and silencing false teachers. To emphasize, this was stated through Apostle Paul as a requirement for eldership in God’s Church. However, all of these must be done in humility, as Apostle Paul tells Timothy.
“And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be GENTLE to all, able to teach, PATIENT, in HUMILITY correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” (II Timothy 2:24-26, NKJV)
We see the emphasis I’ve added by capitalizing some words. But we also see “correcting those who are in opposition”. That we must be gentle does not mean that we cannot oppose untruths in very clear terms. Like Gregory Koukl puts it, “Just make sure it’s your ideas that offend and not you, that your beliefs cause the dispute and not your behavior.” From Micaiah, we learn, that we can defend the truth both passionately and gently. We can take a slap or two (will you 😃? for the sake of the kingdom, you should!) without turning things into a personal vendetta. The job must be done, the onslaught is against falsehood. It is a defense of truth and not of self, a triumph of truth, not a victory for you.
Gentleness represents the still waters from which salted speech evaporates to heal our listeners. It is a badge of Christ’s ambassadors and a bridge for fruitful engagements. It is part of the message as well as the tactic. It keeps us alert and shames aggressors. It swerves distractions and centralizes the discussion. Truth slips out betwixt the preaching and the punching, the beckoning and the bickering. The gentle voice wins over the brawling party. Christ is exalted in content and character. Your voice will linger long after your wounds are healed. And you would bear the marks of Christ, having suffered with him “outside the city gate”. (Galatians 6:17, Hebrews 13:11-14)
God bless you. See you in the next episode where we look at peculiar reasons why polemics is opposed. The LORD help us all.