People just amaze me sometimes, and that is not always a good thing.  In a recent article I read, people gathered around the Grand Hyatt at Washington D.C to protest, get this, the spelling bee!  Now, people will gather and protest many controversial topics, but the spelling bee?  The people who were there represented the American Literacy Council and the London-based Spelling Society.  Their agenda?  To simplify the way we spell words.  The protestors had signs that read messages like this, “Enuf is enuf; enough is too much.”
       Ok, now I know the English language is not the simplest language.  It has strange spelling and breaks nearly every rule it has, but is this really something worth protesting?  We have terrible actions such as homosexuality and abortion, we are living in a culture that elevates impurity and sinful living, and yet they are protesting about the spelling of words?  What a terrible waste of time and energy.
       As I read this article, I was reminded of people who are contentious and  argumentative about pointless things.  Titus 3:9 says, “But avoid foolish controversies…for they are unprofitable and worthless.”  Now, I am not talking about things where the Lord has specified and given commands about.  Any command we see in the Bible is something we should stand firm and be unmovable with. 
       However, let’s be careful about the things we are arguing and protesting about that are not biblical commands.  Are they really worth our time or would our time be better spent elsewhere?  Too many times we get caught up with the pet peeves and minor details and we forget the main focus of this life and in the church (Matthew 6:33).  Is our opinion really important enough to cause disunity in the church and possibly turn someone away from the Lord? Too many churches have been split and people have been driven away from the Lord due to foolish controversies. While we all have our own opinions and ways we like to do things, is it really so bad if someone does it a bit differently?  Let’s strive to be people who always encourage peace when it is about insignificant things (Romans 12:18) but firm on the commands from the Bible.

–Brett Petrillo