WHAT WAS PAUL’S PET PEEVE?

Everyone has a pet peeve.

Some people get irritated by slow drivers. Others cannot stand loud chewing, clutter, or people who are always late.

The term "pet peeve" is modern, but the idea is not. There are things that bother all of us.

That got me wondering. If the Apostle Paul had a pet peeve, what would it have been?

The answer becomes obvious the moment you read his letters.

False teachers. Nothing stirred Paul more than people who distorted the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He was patient with young believers. He was patient with those who struggled. He was patient with those who needed correction and instruction. But when it came to those who corrupted God's truth, Paul pulled no punches.

“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:8)

Those are strong words. Paul was not concerned about preferences, traditions, or personalities. He was concerned about the gospel itself.

To Timothy, he wrote, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” (2 Timothy 4:2)

Why such urgency?

Because Paul knew what was coming.

 “For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”(2 Timothy 4:3–4)

Today there are still teachers who add to the gospel. Some teach that Christ is not enough. Others teach that repentance is unnecessary. Some promise health, wealth, and success while rarely mentioning sin, holiness, judgment, or obedience. Others reshape God into someone more acceptable to the culture.

Paul would not have remained silent. He confronted error wherever he found it because he understood what was at stake.

He wrote, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)

The Apostle understood that error does not need to look dangerous to be dangerous. It only needs to move people away from the truth.

Perhaps that is why false teaching seemed to trouble him so deeply. He knew what was at stake. A person misled about the gospel is not merely confused. They are being led away from the only message that can save them.

That is why Paul repeatedly pointed believers back to God's Word. Not feelings. Not traditions. Not popular opinion. Not the latest teacher with the largest audience.

The truth.

If Paul had a pet peeve, it was not people who irritated him. It was anything that distorted the truth of God and endangered the souls of men.

Frankly, that is one pet peeve every believer should share.

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“What I write is not for everyone, but what I write is meant for someone.” – Dean Butler

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