Arguing Well: What do you fight with?
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Humans are experts at destruction. In our history on this planet, we have demonstrated an amazing ability to break and kill. When you consider the things we actually manage to build and create, we seem to excel most at building things that destroy.
Most of the inventions we now enjoy in the modern era were the product of war efforts. Planes, computers, the Internet, orbital flight, nuclear power, GPS, wristwatches, stainless steel and even the microwave oven all have their origins in war in the 20th century alone. Our most successful efforts at creativity were stumbled upon as we intentionally sought out ways to kill each other better.
The number of weapons available to any single person with which to do harm to another is staggering. There seems to be no practical way to get rid of weapons because there is no way to get rid of the desire to use them on each other. One of the most interesting, dry reads you can find on the Internet is the Texas Penal Code Chapter 46, entitled "Weapons," — 32 pages of definitions and regulations.
Every weapon listed in state law is designed to harm, kill, maim, disfigure or disable another person. So the challenge for any weapons designer would seem to be inventing a weapon that actually benefits the person on whom it is used.
I can think of one.
In Ephesians 6, after Paul points out that other people are not our enemies, but rather "the rulers, ... the authorities, ... the powers of this dark world and ... the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12), he describes the aspects of our life in Christ that serve as armor for us in the fight. Everything we have is defensive except one. In our fight for truth, we are afforded a single offensive weapon. Paul urges us to "Take ... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17).
Sometimes it becomes necessary to reason and debate with someone because we love them and want them to find freedom in the truth (answering "Why should we fight?"). We may then recognize we are fighting not against that person but for them (which speaks to "Whom do we fight?"). The next question that naturally arises is, "What do we fight with?"
Words are our weapon.
"The tongue has the power of life and death" (Proverbs 18:21), so let us be careful with such a dangerous weapon. Often, I think some Christians make a mistake in the way we think about our words. We tend to fall into a habit of thinking that because we are given some authority by the one with all authority, we are able to do more with our words that we actually can. But the fact remains that speaking my own words — like every other weapon I have at my disposal — will be essentially destructive and self-serving. We can still fight with our own words, but that way will only lead to destruction and harm.
Instead, the "sword of the Spirit" is "the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). The authority God gives us as followers of Jesus is limited by God's own words. When Jesus asked his disciples if they were planning to leave him, Peter so wisely acknowledged, "To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).
This sword, which is God's own word, "is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). The sword of the Spirit — God's word — stands unique as the only weapon that actually heals and helps the person against whom it is employed.
Consider what happens when God's word is read and taken seriously. For instance, a young and then relatively unknown monk in Germany who read the Bible and believed what it said forever changed the church because he simply posted a list of how what he noticed in his own church did not really line up with what the Bible said. You may have heard of Martin Luther.
The change wrought on an individual by God's word, however, is much greater than that. Martin Luther was fearful and anxious until the sword cut him and made him bold and assured of God's grace.
Before God's sword cut into me, I was hard, manipulative, uncaring, selfish, arrogant and abrasive. I find that the longer God's word works on my heart, the more soft, tolerant, careful, selfless, humble and gentle I become.
What do we fight with? What weapon will you choose? As Paul discussed disagreements and arguments in Corinth, he admonished his brothers and sisters to "learn from (him and Apollos) the meaning of the saying, 'Do not go beyond what is written'" (1 Corinthians 4:6). I would give you the same advice. We have no weapon for actually helping people but God's word. Let your mouth be filled with it that you may build up rather than tear down as you fight for truth and people.