Flee, Pursue, Avoid: The Three Imperatives for Timothy

2 Timothy 2:22–25 (NKJV):

22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. 24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 

“I was young and had the wisdom of an orange seed.”

The three imperatives here are flee, pursue, and avoid. The order is interesting: Some things you should run from like a fugitive of the law; other things you should pursue like it was a limited item on Black Friday; and there are a few things you should purposely avoid like the COVID 19 virus. This last one is my lesson. I was in a small struggling ministry organization that had a traditional unspoken power base. I did not realize it the power base until I received a letter from the invisible self-appointed chief leadership of the organization which demanded answers to questions. I was young and had the wisdom of an orange seed. I was prepared to make my case and dance circles around any rebuttals. Then I read my Bible. Specifically, I came across this verse about choosing to avoid dumb disputes and not be quarrelsome. It was if the Lord was asking me: “Do you want to be a servant of the Lord or not?” I reluctantly answered with a yes and never regretted keeping my big mouth of self-defense shut that day.