The Little Old Lady in the Second Row

The Little Old Lady in the Second Row

2 Timothy 2:14-19

Erik Leidzen was a 20^th century American composer who wrote much of his music for the church.  While he wrote some vocal music, he is best known for his works for band—a genre which does not occupy a large niche in the overall scope of church music.  Still, Leidzen is, in a somewhat limited circle, respected for his music but even more for his Christian witness. 

Working in an age when church music was becoming more complex, and when other composers were writing music that was difficult both to play and to understand, Leidzen kept his music straightforward enough to be understood by everyone.  Although often difficult to play, it is never difficult to listen to.  He said he wrote for “the little old lady in the second row,” the untrained, unsophisticated listener whose only desire is to receive a blessing from the music she (he) hears in church.  In pursuing that goal, Erik Leidzen was a huge success.

The writer of the epistles to Timothy (just for the sake of simplicity let’s call him Paul) might have had the same issue in mind when he said to his young protégé—speaking of Timothy’s congregation—“charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.”  Two verses later he tells the young pastor to “avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.”

These are tough words, but they highlight a problem that was prevalent in the early church, and remains a serious one today.  Where do solid teaching and discussion about Scripture leave off and useless arguments begin?  How do we study Scripture and grow in knowledge without replacing what the Bible says with our own understanding—that is, create false doctrine?

Both issues plague today’s churches.  When Paul warns Timothy about his congregants quarreling over words, he is foreshadowing the rift between systematic theologians and the people in the pews.  As much as members of our congregation want to hear music they can relate to in worship, they also want to hear a word from the Lord that helps them get through the trials and struggles they will face during the week.  Like philosophers arguing about the meaning of words such as esthetics, theologians can become so wrapped up in arguments with each other over words such as soteriology (the theory of salvation) that they forget about the people who will sit in the pews and listen to sermons on Sunday morning.  Their arguments mean as much to our congregations as a lecture on water safety means to someone who is drowning.

The church also faces the problem of preachers who try to make the Bible say what they want it to say rather than hear what the Bible says.  This happens when people pick and choose selected verses rather than reading whole passages for context.  I once heard a preacher say that you can prove almost anything with Scripture.  He went on to tell about the woman who read the verse “All things are yours,” and found in it an excuse for her shoplifting.  While we shake our heads at the woman’s misinterpretation, we also remember how many times those who occupy our pulpits read into Scripture their own political or social agendas.

What’s the solution?  For the first issue, we must always keep in mind the people to whom we are preaching.  They come, Sunday after Sunday, like beggars looking for bread.  What they need is good, wholesome meals, not rich, rare delicacies.  For the second issue, we must study Scripture diligently and try to come to God’s word with fresh, new eyes, not bringing ourselves to the table, or what we think we know.  We must remember that we too are beggars looking for bread.  We also need to feed on the word.  Like every member of our congregation, we’re more like Leidzen’s little old lady in the second row than we care to admit.