Articles
The Value of Disagreement
Sounds strange, doesn’t it? Our society has largely lost the ability to disagree respectfully and politely, and to our shame. Need proof? Consider Exhibit A: the flood of negative political campaign TV ads we’ve witnessed the past few weeks. Fundamentally, each candidate disagrees with the other, yet they are not content to just argue their case and let it rest—they have to sling mud and defame their opponents. Seeing our leaders unable to disagree without stooping to slander and malice, we unwittingly sometimes follow suit. But even if we don’t, when we express disagreement with others we are often perceived as hateful and judgmental bigots.
This is not good for our society, nor is it good for God’s people. Local churches are comprised of individuals who often disagree with each other on matters of judgment, opinion, and application. If we—like the world around us—fail to handle these in a Christ-like and Bible-directed manner, we can destroy the local church, something God does not view lightly (1 Cor. 3:16-17). On the other hand, there is actually benefit to disagreement, if we maintain it with love and humility.
Disagreement can challenge us to grow. “As iron sharpens iron,” the Proverb says, “so one man sharpens another” (27:17). Sharpening happens when there is friction between a blade and a stone, sometimes even creating a spark. If your disagreement challenges me to rethink my stance on an issue or interpretation of a passage it is a good thing, not something to be avoided!
Disagreement can build up true unity within a local church. Unity is not uniformity. Of course, unity cannot exist without agreement on the authority of Christ, existence of God, or doctrine of the Scriptures (Eph. 4:4-6). However, we still have differences in role, talent, personality, background, and opinion (Eph. 4:7f; 1 Cor. 8; Rom. 14). Like a marriage, our commitment to love one another and remain steadfast in God’s word is what creates real “oneness” in a local church. Unity that can be snapped in half by a single straw of disagreement is too fragile to be the “unity of the Spirit.” Learning to how to work together with patience, love, humility, and forbearance is precisely what is required to maintain true unity in Christ (Eph. 4:1-3).
Disagreement creates opportunity to learn and show genuine love. Again, love dependent on complete agreement is not true selflessness. It’s easy to love someone you get along with; it’s more difficult when someone is different than you. Love must win the day. “Fervently love one another from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22). “Let love be without hypocrisy” (Rom. 12:9). Disagreement challenges us to learn the value of giving up liberties for the sake of a brother (1 Cor. 8:13) and humbly bearing the burdens of those with whom I differ (Rom. 15:1-3).
We are not encouraging worthless quarrels and divisive contentiousness about insignificant matters (2 Tim. 2:23-24). Let all disagreement be done in love and truth. But if we avoid all disagreement for fear of offending, are we really any better off? In that case, we’re not too far from accepting the shallow and self-defeating “truth is all relative” philosophy.
