NOTES for Tit 3:9
In every age, people have had a tendency to argue. Of course, for some this desire was stronger, for others it was less visible, but fallen man is by nature argumentative, because in the overwhelming majority of cases an argument is not simply an exchange of opinions or a search for truth, but a desire to assert oneself. Unlike many other forms of self-assertion, it comes under very respectable pretexts, so that this kind of self-assertion is often not perceived as something blameworthy even by those who would certainly condemn the same self-assertion in any other form. Besides, an argument allows a person to display intelligence, wit, eloquence, and many other qualities whose demonstration flatters self-love.
But truth, if it is born in argument at all, alas, is not born there every time. Of course, in the ideal case, when those arguing argue without any desire to show off or assert themselves at the expense of the opponent, they really can arrive at some truth. But in fallen humanity, unfortunately, the ideal argument is just as purely theoretical a model of reality as an ideal gas is in physics: in real life such arguments are as impossible as an ideal gas is impossible in nature. At best, we can speak only of the desire to find truth predominating in those who argue over the desire for self-assertion. But even such predominance is, alas, not nearly as common as it may appear. In every other case, argument really loses its meaning.
Even Jesus Himself did not try to argue with those who entered into a dispute solely in order to outargue their conversation partner: any arguments are useless there. More than that, such an argument can harm those who argue instead of helping them. When the matter reaches a struggle of self-loves and rivalry in self-assertion, those arguing, as centuries of experience show, easily and quickly forget the commandments of God, and usually remember them only when it is already too late. To get involved in such arguments means to encourage them, and that is certainly not fitting for someone called to bear witness to the Kingdom. Here the well-known saying about speech being silver and silence being gold finds its justification.