Coming to Blows
to slander no one, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing every consideration for all people. Titus 3:2 NASB
Contentious – The NASB translation is only one of several possible choices for the Greek term ámachos. Other English Bibles provide “peaceable,” “not brawlers,” “avoid quarreling,” and “avoid fighting.” The reason for this is that the Greek term is the negation of máchē (the particle á adds the negative to the original word). máchē is a military term for physical combat, but in Scripture it also includes threats, strife, and disputes. In other words, the term is applicable whenever there is conflict that could or might lead to blows. I’m sure you get the idea, so the exact English isn’t a problem. But that’s probably not all Paul has in mind. While máchē is used for physical combat in the LXX, it has this meaning only in one verse in the apostolic writings. Most of the time, it means strife or threat. When Paul employs the Greek term writing to a Gentile audience, they would typically understand that physical combat aspect, but Paul uses the term in the context of the previous word, blasphēmía. He changes the background. Now ámachos isn’t about actual fights. It’s about fighting words, fighting attitudes, fighting intentions. It’s not enough to resist actual blows. What matters is the posture of the heart. If you’d really rather hit the person but you just don’t do it for social or moral reasons, you’ve still engaged in máchē. You might find a parallel here with Yeshua’s remark about fantasizing adultery.
In the end, it’s an internal issue. Peaceable on the outside doesn’t necessarily mean relationship tranquility on the inside. Even our closest partners can be the hidden objects of anger. We smile. We act politely. We pretend things are amicable. But inside the battle rages. “Why did you do that to me?” an inner voice complains. “You’ll see. I’ll get even soon enough.” And fifty years later the anger still boils. The soul deteriorates under the heat. We come to see ourselves in those other words of Paul: “For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15). Blessed is the man whose life is transparent to himself. We are so easily fooled by our own desires.
The Italians perfected the term vendetta. Originally from Latin (vindicare), it describes a private war of revenge. A blood feud, with Corsican history. But we don’t have to be Italian to experience its grip. All we have to do is be self-centered. All we have to do is follow the leading of the yetzer ha’ra, protecting our fragile egos from any form of attack. In fact, in the modern world, máchē can even include those moments of passive-aggressive behavior toward the ones we love (justified, of course, because they did something that hurt me). Cleaning out the secret armories is often a difficult task. But Paul insists we do just that. Look deep into those recesses in the soul and find the places of battle preparation. Throw open the fortress doors and let God do the cleaning—with, perhaps, a little help from His friends.
Topical Index: ámachos, quarrelsome, contentious, yetzer ha’ra, vindicare, Titus 3:2
