THINGS NOT TO CONSIDER

2 Timothy 2:16-18 (KJV)

But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

I read one time that Napoleon Bonaparte only opened his mail once every three weeks. He said that in doing so most of the emergencies that he was informed of in those letters had already resolved themselves and he did not have to think about them at all.

Of course things traveled much slower in those days than it does now, so I doubt that most of us could get away with leaving our correspondence unanswered for a month.[1]

The illustration does, however, give us a platform to consider what it is we consider.

If you will remember, in last week’s lesson from 2 Timothy 2:7-15 we looked at three things Paul told Timothy to consider:

·   The Resurrection of Christ

·   Salvation by faith and

·   The surety of the Scriptures

Just as sure as there are things we ought to devote our attention to, there are other things that are not worth the time and energy it takes to think about them.

A phrase was coined, probably 20 years or more ago called, “The Tyranny of the Urgent.”

The idea is that things that demand our immediate attention are not always the things that deserve our best attention.

Time management gurus advise us to prioritize our thoughts so that we focus on what is important rather than what is urgent.

Most emergencies – aren’t.

The Apostle Paul gives Timothy several things upon which he ought to focus his attention but then he gives him some things it would be best for him to avoid giving thought to.

There are two that are easily identifiable:

*I. PROFANE AND VAIN BABBLINGS

2 Timothy 2:16 (KJV)

But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

A. Babblings

This word takes us all the way back to Babel where God confounded the languages of the people.[2]

The people had conspired together to build something that was opposed to true worship so God confused their language so they could not understand each other and so could not build their tower.

Babbling is gibberish that scatters and divides rather than unifies and builds.

B. Profane

We usually think of the word profane as meaning a curse word.

It is that and more.

The word is heathenish. It is anything that is irreverent.

Something profane is anything that is meant abuse that which is sacred.

It might be a conversation when a person speaks negatively about those involved in the ministry of the church.

C. Vain

This word means empty and useless; worthless.

Matthew 12:36 (KJV) says,

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Have you ever heard that phrase, “Engage your brain before you open your mouth.”?

A ton of trouble happens when people talk without thinking.

But here’s the thing,

We will never stop all the profane and vain babblings of men.

So the wise thing to do is to

·   avoid being a part of it and

·   avoid paying much attention to it

Charles Spurgeon counseled preacher student in his college to keep a “blind eye and deaf ear.”

In other words, don’t look at everything that happens and don’t listen to everything that’s spoken.

Avoid thinking about profane and vain babblings and avoid people like

*II. HYMENAEUS and PHILETUS

And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

I want to acknowledge right away that Paul did name them.

That tells me he did not avoid thinking about them altogether.

·   They had to be addressed

·   They had to be dealt with

·   They had to be identified so that they could be avoided

But they should not be the people upon whom the majority of the attention is focused.

We don’t know a lot about these guys except that their words were like a canker, a sore.

Let me tell you three sorts of people who should not get the bulk of your attention:

A. People who are critical

You know the type,

·   They cut down people.

·   They always think there is a better way than the way its being done

·   They don’t compliment, they don’t encourage, they cast down

B. People who are gossips

This is the person who spends all of their time sharing “news” about others.

I listened to an interview of Bob Woodward, one of the journalists who broke the Watergate story that led to the resignation of President Nixon.

He had only been a reporter one year when he and Carl Bernstein uncovered Watergate but he has spent the last 42 years focused on Nixon.

Nixon died 22 years ago, but Woodward is still trying to dig up more gory dirt on him.

·   He and Bernstein authored the book, All the President’s Men back in 1974.

·   He is currently writing another book entitled More of the President’s Men

I understand that historians write the histories of Presidents again and again but Woodward isn’t a historian – he is a professional gossip.

You don’t need to pay attention to those people who make it their business to tell you all the “dirty little secrets” they think they have uncovered about the people you know and probably love.

C. People who are not teachable

Some people have no interest but to take from you.

They are closed off, they think they already know and have more than you – and they do not listen to you.

·   They want to do all of the talking

·   They what to take all of your time and

·   They do not believe there is anything you can teach them

I am not telling you to completely shun people like these, but I am saying they should not be allowed to consume you and your time.

YOU WOULD BE BETTER OFF

Spending your time and attention with people who:

·   Provoke you to love and good works

·   Encourage you in the faith and

·   Teach you sound doctrine

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[1] We could probably leave most of it unanswered period and a lot of it could wait many days rather than in an instant.

[2] Genesis 11:1-8 (KJV)

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.