Pick Your Battles

"Pick your battles." We've heard this slogan in marriage counseling. Many times, the battles couples choose are not worth fighting for. I'm often guilty of allowing some minor grievance to set me off. The struggle to be right clouds my judgment in picking the right hill to die on. I've started some of the most ill-timed arguments imaginable. However, I've also been guilty of keeping silent when I should have spoken up. Some battles are indeed worth fighting for.

I've sometimes called Facebook the cesspool of ideological fodder to bait unsuspecting and often well-intentioned people into endless debates. I'm no longer on social media and have no interest in rejoining unless it is strictly business related. It's exhausting to be called every name under the sun for holding some secondary view others may hold as primary. Social media has, in my opinion, cheapened the art of debate - all in the name of proving oneself right. Reading Galatians 3:1-9 almost sounds like any rant you may encounter online.

Paul has a severe bone to pick with the believers of Galatia. In no uncertain terms, he scolds them, calling them foolish and deceived. However, Paul's argument is grounded in a genuine concern for them. Deception had entered the churches, and there was a real effort to return to a legalist framework of trusting in the law to bring righteousness.

You may ask, "What is the big deal?" A clue can be found in the first verse when he says that it was before their eyes that Jesus was publicly displayed as crucified. To rely on the law for righteousness is to ignore the work of Christ on the cross for salvation. The most egregious aspect of the issue was their falling into deception after having experienced the crucified Christ. The resurrection sealed the deal and proved that Christ was the only source of redemption. Christ's work was complete, and all that was needed was a belief in that work.

Paul could not remain silent. Indeed, this was a battle worth fighting for...a hill to die on. The consequences of the deception the church was under were severe. Paul's battle with the Galatians was for the Gospel and his rebuke of their deception and appeal to the Spirit for the work of righteousness was in their best interest. The good news of Jesus was on the line.

Let's stand with the same zeal as Paul when it comes to the Gospel and invest our energies wisely in working together to prioritize the things that are truly important for the Gospel's sake. This is still a world where the enemy peddles a bill of goods, packaged in a variety of modern ideas, but all a cheap substitute for the Gospel. Salvation does not come from a political ideology or our good works. It only comes through the redemption of Jesus Christ on the cross received through faith!

~ Shan Norwood and his wife Rina have been members at LIFE Fellowship for seven years. Shan is a graduate of Gordon Conwell Seminary and holds degrees in Biblical Studies and Christian Thought. He serves as a LIFE University instructor and as a stepdad to Micah and Caleb Godsey.