2 Timothy 2:24 Humble Servant

2 Timothy 2:24 And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.

Perhaps one more role can be found in 2 Timothy 2 to place alongside soldier, athlete, farmer, workman, if we focus on verse 24 where Timothy is reminded that he is the Lord's servant. This is a little different, as with the others we have been saying the minister should be like this or like that but as the word minister means servant we say something more like - the minister must remember that he is a servant, he is the Lord's servant. The negative conclusion drawn from this is that a minister must not quarrel. The point seems to be that as the minister is acting on behalf of his Lord then he must avoid strife and commit himself to the Lord. With this negative come three positives. Firstly, he must be kind to everyone regardless of how they treat him. The ability to teach is mentioned elsewhere. It means to be able to learn and to teach. Such a man will know that quarrelling gets you nowhere in either of those directions. The third positive has a negative frame - ministers must not be resentful. He must be patient even when things are said against him or when there is opposition - like a good servant, indeed.