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Avoid Profane And Vain Babbling

Is arguing about politics and religion considered profane and vain babblings?

O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:20-21)

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. (2 Timothy 2:15-16)

This post is an open discussion and I am hoping that you, my readers, will participate by leaving your comments below.

This article is longer than my usual post, but please bear with me.

What is profane and vain babbling?

The Strong Hebrew/Greek lexical concordance definition of profane and vain babblings

Profane is from the Greek word bebēlos, which means unhallowed, common or ungodly when pertaining to men.

The phrase ‘vain babbling’ is from the Greek word kenophōnia, which means empty discussion, discussion of vain and useless matters.

According to biblestudytools.com, vain babbling is the ministry of false teachers.

Vain babblings are great swelling words of vanity like large bubbles of water. The words look big and make great noise but have nothing in them.

They are empty, idle, unprofitable and unedifying words.

Profane is contrary to the nature and perfection of God and not agreeable to Godly doctrines.

All of these we should shun, avoid, discourage, refuse and reject because they will encourage ungodliness.

Based on the above definitions, can political arguments be viewed as profane and vain babblings?

Should Christians become involved in partisan politics?

According to Wikipedia.org and The Free Dictionary by Farlex, political partisans are committed members to a party who strongly support their party’s policies and are reluctant to compromise with their political opponents.

Partisans are sometimes militant supporters who will harass their opponents and instigate gang warfare.

These persons will agree with and support all their party’s political agenda without carefully thinking about the matter.

They strongly believe in their political leaders and will follow them wherever they lead even to possibly their own destruction.

The strong bias towards one party can lead to arguments that are disrespectful and degrading resulting in the break up of family and friends.

A person who is a strong defender of one party can develop a total disregard for any good that the other party is doing.

They can develop hatred against a person of the opposing party.

Political partisan can lead to social division in the family and the country on a whole.

Words are powerful whether written or spoken. When you write or speak negative and hurtful words in an argument they have adverse destructive effects on both the speaker and the victim.

Spiteful words develop animosity and hatred which will eventually build up toxins in your body that later manifest in illness.

A person’s attitude can determine his blessing.

For example, if you have hatred, anger, resentment, and unforgiveness in your heart they will hinder your healing and deliverance.

For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? but we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16)

On the other hand, if you have the mind of Christ and do good works then, according to Isaiah 58:7-8, your healing will spring forth speedily.

These negative factors that resulted from political arguments can definitely lead to ungodliness and so can be considered as profane and vain babblings.

During a political campaign in the country that I lived, I was drawn to one particular party.

Even though I was not qualified to vote I found myself paying key interest in the politics of the country.

I began to favor one political party leaders above the others. I liked their views on social and economic issues and I was praying that they won the election.

It should be noted that I only expressed my political views privately at home and never in any public forum.

Anyway, the party that I liked won the election and I thought that this was the will of the Lord.

However, when the party began their reign they instigated a lot of unforgiveness, anger, and confusion in the country.

I know for a fact that God is not the author of confusion so I asked the Lord to help me understand what was happening.

The Lord showed me that we are living in the times when the antichrist spirit is rampant.

This spirit usually infiltrates the hearts of leaders in the political and religious arena.

The antichrist spirit does not speak openly against the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel of salvation.

Instead, the antichrist spirit outwardly endorses Christianity and even preaches the Word of God.

However, behind closed doors, the antichrist spirit’s real allegiance is to the devil.

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. (1 John 4:3)

The Lord was showing me that I should not put my trust in any man regardless of their eloquent speeches.

I should view each leader whether profess Christian or otherwise as a man with the potential to fail.

The real enemy

The Lord further stated that this ongoing warfare is not against flesh and blood.

It is against principalities and powers, against the rulers of darkness in this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12).

The warfare is not and should not be between political parties. It is between the forces of evil and the kingdom of God.

For example, when Jesus healed the man with the paralytic hand in the synagogue on the sabbath day, many of the religious elites were upset.

Immediately, the Pharisees and the Herodians conspired together on how they could destroy Jesus (Mark 3:1-8).

I read in the Blue Letter Bible that the Herodians were followers of King Herod.

They wanted to restore a Herod or descendants of Herod to the throne in Judea while the Pharisees wanted to restore the kingdom of David.

The Pharisees and the Herodians were political enemies yet they united together and plotted to kill Jesus.

This is the same thing that is currently happening in every country in the world.

The different political parties will oppose each other in the political arena but behind closed doors, they are united in the same society to conspire against the people of God.

There is nothing wrong with Christians exercising their rights to vote, but be wary of becoming deeply involved in political partisans.

In conclusion, the Lord emphasized that the Church should focus on building His kingdom on earth.

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such, there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

By demonstrating the fruits of the Spirit in this evil world we will eventually eradicate the darkness.

By focusing on helping the poor and needy, and encouraging our fellow brethren we will be united in power and victory.

When we focus on reaping the millennials and generation Y harvests, the kingdom of God will grow.

There is much to do here on earth than to be caught up in profane and vain babblings.

Please share your thoughts on profane and vain babblings. I value your opinions.

 

16 Comments »

    • I feel the same also, Barb. Politics and religion are two topics that I avoid. Some people believe you should defend your faith but I believe God can defend Himself. As for politics, I will exercise my right to vote but will not defend a political leader. Thank you for being the first person to voice your opinion on this matter. I am looking forward to some lively discussion. God bless you.

      Liked by 1 person

  1. Every time I see religion and politics discussed at work it turns into a big argument. People get really angry. I think it’s only safe to discuss it depending on who you are with. But you can’t discuss these topics in all places with all people.

    The Word of God should always be our guide in the decisions we make. It’s crazy to me how some people will overlook wrong just to support certain parties. Even if you choose to support someone you still shouldn’t overlook the wrong they do.

    Isaiah 5:20 NIV, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

    Liked by 2 people

    • Good morning Dawn. This is the perfect scripture verse on the subject. As you said both topics when discuss always resulted in heated argument even when it is a written discussion on the social media. Some Christians believe it is their duty to defend their beliefs no matter what. They are even willing to arm themselve to do this. I believe this is one of the trick of the devil to keep us in bondage.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Hi Beverley! Yes I agree it is a trick of the enemy. As you mentioned he uses this to keep us in bondage. When we are bound we don’t experience the freedom that comes from walking in God’s truth. We as Christians also have to remember the importance of doing things with love. Arguing isn’t love.

        Liked by 1 person

      • So true. I am yet to see an argument that was done in love. I don’t like compition or argument and when I smell one I quickly back down. Some people may call this weak, but arguing and competing raise my blood pressure.

        Liked by 1 person

      • I’m the same way. I don’t like either one of those. I think competing keeps people from doing what God is calling them to do because they are too wrapped up in what other people are doing.

        Not arguing is not weakness like some think. It actually takes strength to not argue and compete, especially in today’s society.

        Liked by 1 person

      • The root of unhealthy competition is covetiousness. This week I went to a revival service where the speaker said that God gave each of us a unique gift and we should focus on what He has given us to use to make a difference in the world. If we do this we certainly would not find the time to compete. May the Lord help us to do this.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. As a Christ follower, I believe the word that says we are made in the image of God, that we were worth the life of Christ Himself. When I find one of our parties apparently universally coming down opposed to the sanctity of life, I can’t bring myself to say, “Well, to each his own”. Isaiah 5:20 that Dawn quoted, is a good verse for this discussion.

    Liked by 2 people

    • I do believe it is your personal coviction and must be based on the principles of God. We are living in the times where people are calling evil good and good evil. I believe we must speak up against wrong and injustices, but we should do so wisely. It is good also to keep an open mind when discussung these two topics because it can easily develop into anger. Thank you for sharing and God bless you.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. We are called to be witnesses of Jesus, to live for His glory, to snatch people from the fire BUT it seems that some believe that we are called to politics and the party of our choice. Oh my, what would happen if we clung to Jesus and the Word of God as close as we do to political views. It seems as though there is some idol worship when we forget what God has said…much prayer is needed to defeat this subtle enemy of the soul.

    Liked by 1 person

    • It is indeed a subtle enemy of the soul – another trick of the enemy to defeat God’s people. We need to be wiser than the serpent to detect his evil devices. It is sad when I see Christians turning against each other just because of different political leaders.

      Like

  4. I agree that we should always speak the truth in love with gentleness and respect, but we must speak the truth. Speaking God’s truth in the political arena is not vain or profane babbling. For example, speaking God’s truth to the issue of abortion is righteous. Killing babies is an egregious sin against God and it is murder no matter how anybody spins it. We must stand up and speak the truth to society. Of course people will hate us and persecute us when we speak the truth, but Jesus told us they would and we must press on. We build God’s Kingdom by preaching the Gospel and the truth of God’s Word to the world and we must stand firm. God bless!

    Liked by 1 person

    • It is definitely important that Christians speak the truth based on the Word of God. However, I believe it should be done with wisdom. Sometimes both parties are headstrong and hold on to their views which can lead to anger and resentments.

      When discussions or arguments lead to ungodly behavior it is not glorifying God and at that stage it can be viewed as profane and vain babblings. Thank you, Ryan, for sharing your thoughts on this. Blessings.

      Liked by 1 person

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