2Timothy 2 speaks of escaping the snare of the devil. Men are captured by the devil to do his will, but how? As I studied 2Timothy 2 this morning is hit me that men are captured by the devil in the way they think; track with me on how I landed there. Paul is instructing on how we speak, because the WAY we speak matters. We are not to be quarrelsome, which is defined as "angry discussion". We are not to babble irreverently, which is to disrespectfully talk rapidly over your opponent. Instead, we are to correct our opponents with gentleness. Notice how Paul doesn't say NOT to correct our opponents; but there is a way in which we ARE to correct opponents, WITH GENTLENESS - why? When we get into an angry discussion with someone, when we talk over them insisting we be heard, that person's pride will get in the way of any possibility of their mind being changed. Therefore, if we truly want a person's mind to be changed, if we want them to rethink what they believe to be true, we must speak with gentleness and respect. This, as Paul puts it, will help them to escape the snare of the devil and lead to a knowledge of the Truth. Therefore, men are captured by the devil in the way they think. It reminds me of one of those large fenced in drive through zoos, it is so wide open that the wolves probably don't know they are imprisoned, they are under the illusion of being free, but they are not.
