II Timothy 2:23 “But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.”
Have your kids ever asked you a “good” question? A good question is often code for a question that doesn’t have a good answer. Sometimes all you can say is, “That’s a good question.” As a parent, I’ve resorted to using that answer on several occasions! There are some questions that do not have a good answer because they are smart questions. However, there are other questions that do not have a good answer because they only incite contention. A question is not a good question when, instead of providing direction, information, and answers, it only provides contention.
Haven’t we all been asked loaded questions that do not have good answers? Sometimes no matter how you answer, you are in trouble! Ironically, a question can be used to make a pointed statement. Is it any wonder the Bible warns us to avoid “foolish and unlearned questions”? Avoiding these types of questions would include avoiding both asking them and answering them!
One time a man raised his hand during the sermon I was preaching. I already knew the purpose of his question since he had previously expressed his anger after the previous night’s message. He was lost and was not happy about what I was preaching. He disagreed with my notion that all men were sinners and that there was only one way to Heaven. Right there on the second row, with anger and disgust, he raised his hand for everyone to see! I didn’t take his question that day, but I can guarantee you he did not want an answer–he wanted contention!
Let me mention a couple of specifics that can help us all. First, be careful about complaining questions. A person can disguise a complaint as a question, like when he says, “Why does it have to be so hot?!” Does he really want to know the meteorological reason for the weather? No! He is, in fact, making a statement about the weather and complaining to someone who can do nothing about it! And he would not dare speak to the One who controls the weather in such a way! Be careful about complaining questions.
Second, be careful about contentious or combative questions. Questions about rules are almost always about changing the rule, not the basis for the rule. Teenagers are notorious for asking, “Why can’t we?” or “Why do we have to?”; but even some adults are consumed with asking contentious questions. Don’t live your life as a question mark, always asking why or why not. Live your life as a declaration of truth based on God’s declared Word! Remember, sometimes “good” questions can be foolish questions in disguise.