Untitled Sermon (6)

To Timothy: Spiritual Leadership - Difficult People

When I was in college I found myself working full time at a local pharmacy. What started off as a part time summer job quickly became more and more responsibility. Eventually I found myself with the title of supervisor. When I was working, I was tasked with helping the cashiers with issues when they arose and had to make sure tasks were assigned when things were slow. It was a small store, so cashiers did a little bit of everything, from stocking, clearing, and making sure customers were helped when they were in the store. We had a staff of maybe 6 cashiers that would rotate between the two main shifts, morning and afternoon. Some of the staff were easy and fun to work with. They were easy to talk to and did a good job when they were given tasks. Others, not so much. I remember one guy in particular, his name was Larry. He only worked there for maybe 6 months, he was eventually fired for stealing stuff. He needed constant babysitting. If you gave him a task, you had to keep on him until it was done. Talking to him was tough, because all he did was complain. About everything. Eventually, I took over scheduling duties. I don’t think I ever worked with Larry again after that… my schedule just magically worked out!

This morning we are wrapping up our series “To Timothy: Spiritual Leadership.” Over the course of this series we have been taking a look at what it means to be a leader. We have been operating under the assumption that each and everyone of us is a leader. We might not have a fancy title like Pastor, Elder, or Deacon… but we still have an opportunity to lead others. It is Christ’s intention for the church to be light in the world… leading people into a loving relationship with Jesus. We each have a realm of influence, our family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors, that we are called to be Jesus to. Last week, Jonathan crushed it with the attitude we are to have when it comes to our leadership. We are to be servant leaders, looking for opportunity to serve others. This morning, I want to build upon that attitude of servant leadership.

If you have a Bible, let’s look at 2 Timothy 2-24-26. Real talk. This passage challenges me unlike anything else we have covered throughout this series. I look back at the way I have led difficult people… and I struggle to see this passage at work. This is hard stuff. Paul instructs Timothy to refrain from quarreling. To be kind, to be willing to teach, to be patient. As I spent time working through this passage… I kept going back to people in my past. People like Larry at the pharmacy. The truth is, I was not very kind. I was not very willing to teach. I was not very patient. I was quick to find all the things he did that I didn’t like and I was extremely willing to hold them over his head… to keep him in his place.

Think for a moment. Who comes to mind when you think of “difficult people?” I want you to think about what makes them so difficult? Maybe it is some habit that drives you crazy. Maybe it is some part of their personality that makes them hard to get along with. Maybe it is their lack of teachability. Maybe they complain all the time. There can be a lot of reasons that they might be difficult. I want you to picture that person in your mind… including all the little things that you find so difficult. Let’s read this again… but instead of difficult people, I want you to substitute their name. “A servant of the Lord, you, must not quarrel but must be kind to Larry, abe to teach and be patient with Larry.” Does it change it at a face to the passage? Sometimes we read this and we easily miss the hard parts of what Paul says because we are unwilling to place a face to the instruction. Here is what I want you to see… Paul is talking to you. He is talking about the way you deal with the difficult people in your life. You are to refrain from quarreling. You are to be kind. You are to teach. You have to be patient.

Now, I know what you might be thinking. Easy for Paul to say. He doesn’t know just how difficult the people in my life really are. He has never walked in my shoes. He has never had to go to meetings with the people I have to go to meetings with. He doesn’t know my neighbors or my family. If he did know, I am sure he would explain that my case is exceptional and that we don’t need to follow this one. Maybe Paul would teach this, but take the edge off a little bit. Instead of saying we need to be kind with everyone, he could say most people instead.

Here is the thing. Paul does know what he is talking about. Remember the context of this book. Paul is writing to Timothy who has been battling against false teaching that has led the entire Ephesian church astray. The difficult people that Paul is talking about? The teachers who are talking to the church and trapping them in legalism. The steaks are extremely high here! This is not some neighbor who parks on your grass! And even still… Paul’s message is to lead kindness and patience. To teach rather than quarrel.

The reality is, quarreling and arguing with these people would have been much easier! I am sure Timothy would agree! But there is a larger reason Paul encourages Timothy to take a different approach. Read 2 Timothy 2:25-26. Paul encourages Timothy to gently instruct these false teachers.

I have a pastor friend who used to lead a church in the area before relocating. He had a youtube channel where he used to go on and talk about various theological topics. Most of the episodes were well done and informative… but somewhere along the way things began to shift a little bit. What used to be informative deep dives into various topics turned into him bringing on people from other theological backgrounds to debate him. While these types of discussions can be well done and beneficial… there was nothing well done or beneficial about these videos. Instead of asking questions to understand he would just bully and berate his guests for not believing things the way he did.

Unfortunately, this is often the way the church handles those whom we do not agree with. We argue. We make them out to be the enemy. We see them as difficult people. Now… the thing is sometimes all of that makes sense. Sometimes people are difficult. The thing that I think Paul is really trying to say here is to remember the larger picture. Sure, these people might be difficult now… but what needs to happen for them to see the truth of God’s love? How can our interactions with them lead to God changing their hearts so they can see the truth? And by truth, I am not reducing that to our theological perspective… but rather the larger Truth of God’s love and unending grace for humanity.

When I look back at my failed experience with Larry back at the pharmacy, this is the aspect of this story that really haunts me the most. Here I was, a young 22 year old Bible college student working and leading…. But not the right way. Larry, not a follower of Jesus, did not see Jesus in my life. He knew I was a Bible college student. He knew I wanted to get into ministry. Did he see grace in my actions? Did he see kindness or patience? Did he see an attitude of service and a desire to teach? No chance. He saw a self righteous jerk. The truth is, there is a chance that my attitude caused irreparable damage to the way Larry thought of Jesus.

That is exactly what Paul is trying to help Timothy see here. The way we treat difficult people matters. It is easy to take the easy way out, to argue and drive them away. Who wants difficult people in their lives? Yet, as followers of Jesus we have the opportunity to show people the grace, compassion, and gentleness of Jesus through the way we treat others.

Think back to the difficult person that came to your mind earlier in the message. How can you gently instruct them? How can you be the conduit through which God changes their hearts? What small thing can you do to lead people to the Truth… that Jesus’ love and grace is bottomless. How can you help them escape the devil's trap? Our actions and attitudes matter! We have the opportunity to partner with the author of salvation to change hearts! But to do so, we need to embrace our role as leaders in the world. We have to embrace the mission and purchase of Jesus as it is lived out in our daily lives.