A Thought For The Week Of December 16

"Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels." (2 Timothy 2:23) That seems to me to be pretty good advice. I suspect that if we actually sat back and took a close look, we'd discover that most of the things we argue about are less than central to our life and/or our faith. They're tangential issues; things we might get passionate about, but things that aren't really going to make that much difference. At least that's been my observation, considering both the things I've managed to get into arguments about, and the things I've seen others get into arguments about. I'd have to say here that this verse applies even to the church. How many church fights have any of us witnessed over the years?  Probably a lot. And how many of them have really been about issues that are central to the church's purpose? Really - I've seen passionate arguments break out over what colour the sanctuary should be painted! I bring it up this week because I've started to see an annual argument breaking out among some of my social media friends and colleagues - should we sing Christmas carols during Advent, or should we stick to Advent songs? And some people get very passionate about that. And I find myself wondering - does Jesus really care? Really? Jesus - who had never heard of either Advent or Christmas during his own lifetime? It's a secondary, tangential issue that a lot of people get riled up about and that serves as a perfect illustration of church fights that don't really mean anything. I know if you're a liturgical Christian you love the flow of the seasons, and Advent is one of those seasons. I know that some people think that Christmas carols in Advent destroys the idea of "preparation" that's at the heart of Advent. I know all that. But really - think about 2 Timothy 2:23. Some sing Advent songs in church and some sing Christmas carols in church. I'm doing both. Now that we've acknowledged our differences on the matter - maybe we should get down to doing what Jesus would actually want us to do - which I suspect isn't debating which types of songs should be sung during worship! Have a great week!