At least seven times in the pastoral epistles, Paul directly charges Timothy and Titus to “avoid” and to “have nothing to do with” ideas and people who pose a threat to their flock. This is jarring since one of the main purposes for these letters is to encourage Timothy and Titus to engage false teaching and teachers. Yet here is where the paradox emerges: Paul teaches a pastoral virtue of avoidance—showing that sometimes the wisest form of engagement is careful restraint.

So, what is going on here? Given that Paul clearly wants false teaching and teachers dealt with and also wants these pastors to avoid certain discourse and people, the question arises: What is Paul prohibiting here and what does it mean for pastors today?

Why Paul Commands Avoidance

Paul applies this virtue to two broad categories: words and people. Five of the seven times Paul commands Timothy and Titus to “avoid/having nothing to do with,” it is regarding “irreverent silly myths” (1 Tim. 4:7), “irreverent babble” (1 Tim. 6:20; 2 Tim. 2:16), “foolish [ignorant] controversies” (2 Tim. 2:23; Titus 3:9). In the two other instances, he tells them to avoid or have nothing to do with certain people (2 Tim. 3:5; Titus 3:10). But what is it they are not to engage in?

It is difficult to come up with any real difference between myths, babble, and controversies—especially when you consider that in each place Paul attaches a similar negative adjective such as “foolish,” “silly,” “irreverent,” “ignorant.” In each case, Paul has in mind a certain kind of speech that Timothy and Titus are not to engage in. The specifics of the speech might differ case by case, but they are all of a similar pointless, ungodly, and muddled nature which renders it unworthy of these pastors’ time and attention. But why does Paul want them to avoid it?

This point is clearer as Paul gives reasoning for his command of avoidance:

1 Timothy 4:7 – Avoid irreverent, silly myths because “godliness is of value in every way.”
1 Timothy 6:20–21 – Avoid irreverent babble and contradictions because “by professing it some have swerved from the faith.”
2 Timothy 2:23 – Avoid foolish ignorant controversies because “you know that they breed quarreling and the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone.”
2 Timothy 3:5–7 – Avoid the ungodly people because “among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened by sins, and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.”
Titus 3:9 – Avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law “because they are unprofitable and worthless.”

Titus 3:10 – Avoid those who stir up divisions; “knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is already condemned.”

2 Timothy 2:16–18 – Avoid irreverent babble because “it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.”

In 2 Timothy 2:16–18, Paul gives the most insightful reasoning. Here we get the content of the “babble”: The resurrection has already happened. Paul wants Timothy to avoid this idea because it spreads like gangrene, leads “people into more and more ungodliness,” and upsets their faith. The principle is that sometimes the way to stop a disease from spreading is to avoid the disease rather than fight it head-on. It’s a virus rather than a cancer.

This is somewhat bewildering as we think about the pastor’s role to protect the flock from “fierce wolves” who will not “spare the flock” (Acts 20:28–29). It is also contrary to what most of us feel internally and would amount to what some would deem an abdication of our responsibility as leaders. So, what are pastors today supposed to take from these commands?

Biblical Avoidance

The outworking of this command will differ depending on the immediate context we pastor in. Here are six principles and suggestions that arise from this virtue that apply universally (in no particular order).

1. Avoiding Doesn’t Mean Passivity (2 Tim. 2:23, 25).

Given that Paul wants Timothy and Titus to engage certain false teaching and teachers, it seems that he has a kind of refusal to be “drawn in” in mind. The avoidance he commands does involve interaction and providing reasons, but it stops short of aggression, lashing out, fighting, “sinking to the level,” or becoming obsessed with defeating them. We must avoid without neglecting to protect.

2. Avoiding Means Giving Your Time to What Is Profitable.

In order to avoid, you need to know what does or does not need time and attention. Pastors should be devoted to cultivating godliness rather than tearing down the ungodliness of others. Rather than using most of our limited time to engage with “irreverent babble,” we ought to focus on worthwhile things (Phil. 4:8).

3. Avoiding Doesn’t Mean Being Uninformed.

The more informed you are, the more you are able to know what proportion of time to give or not give certain ideas. Pastors, by nature, are more informed than the flock. They understand doctrine, implications of certain ideas, when cultural issues shift from tier 3 to tier 2, and so on. Through training and the Spirit’s guidance, they discern what and when to avoid.

4. Gently and Firmly Remove Those Who Are Breeding Quarrels in the Church.

Warn them once, then twice, then remove them from the fellowship of your body, having nothing to do with them until they repent (Titus 3:10). Rather than tolerance, avoidance may look like an active decision to “cut out” infected tissue so that it does not spoil the rest of the body (2 Tim. 2:16–17).

5. Don’t Get Sucked into the Pseudo-World of Social Media.

Social media is truly an endless chasm of debating ideas and worldviews. Think of it as a video game server that is constantly live and filled with everyone from the entire world. You could literally spend all your time there. Don’t. Join the server in appropriate proportions and be strategic as to how you engage. Spend most of your time and energy logged in to the server of your immediate context.

6. For a Pastor to Do All of This, He Must Be Sober-Minded.

A quarrelsome man has lost his senses. He feels threatened and offended. He is annoyed and angry. He bites the bait of the fool. He can’t walk away or let the issue rest. He can’t simply say, “No more,” but has to win and get the upper hand. Everything is a “hill to die on” to him. So, in time, he will die on every hill, and it will be for the wrong things. Sober-mindedness allows a pastor to discern when engage, when to step back, and when to protect the flock without overacting.

In a day and culture where many assume the virtuous thing to do is always to enter fully into every debate and squabble, Paul’s pastoral virtue of avoidance forces us to ask ourselves, “Is this something I should be engaging with? If so, how, and to what extent?” Because pastoral malpractice is not only possible by cowardly holding back, but by impassioned rushing in as well.

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