Winning Isn’t … Anything

In the Bible, we find the story of Stephen, who was a deacon in the early church. We’re told that Stephen was “full of faith and power” and that he “did great wonders and signs among the people.”

“Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen … disputing with Stephen,” it says, “and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.”

In other words, some people came along to argue with Stephen, and he argued back so powerfully, aided by the Holy Spirit, that he won the argument. They lost.

So of course they admitted that Stephen was right and they were wrong and their hearts were changed and they all became believers and everybody was best buds after that.

No. That’s not what happened.

What happened was that the people Stephen was arguing with got mad, ginned up some false accusations against him so that they could arrest him, and then stoned him to death. With the approval of their leaders.

A lot of Christians are deeply entrenched in the culture wars these days, arguing endlessly with anybody and everybody about their pet issues. Abortion, gender and sexuality, and creation are the big ones.

But I think there is a lesson for us in Stephen’s story, and it is not that we should all argue our way to martyrdom. I think the lesson is that winning the argument did not change one heart, or one mind – and Stephen had the wisdom of God behind his words. Even with that, winning the argument did not result, as other incidents in the book of Acts did, in the conversion of souls to God.

Christians need to stop trying to “win the argument.” What we need to win are souls. And that’s a path that begins through the cultivation of personal humility and the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

How many of those things are consistent with the way the culture wars are fought every single day?

What argument are you going to stop trying to win, today, in the name of the Gospel?

What fruit of the Spirit will you bear toward your neighbor, today, instead?