Skip to main content

Becoming Titus 2

Extravagant Grace

Becoming Titus 2 is a monthly discussion over at Extravagent Grace on what it means to become a Titus 2 woman. 
Titus 2:3-5 is a familiar verse encouraging women in their lifestyle and behavior: 
"the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things, that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,  to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed."

Today's section to look at is:  "not slanderers, not given to much wine,"  I will admit that my first reaction was to skip over this part, I don't drink and don't slander.  But as a woman who seeks to be a Titus 2 woman, I knew I needed to dig a little deeper into this.

I found some interesting things about this verse.  The "older woman" doesn't neccesarily indicate age, but more of seniority or experience.  The older woman is to have a reputation or manner of life that is worthy of respect as a mature woman of God. To have a life worthy of resepct is to practice living a daily life with these Titus 2 principles in practice.

The godly woman is to have victory over sins of the tongue, particularly, in this case, the sin of bearing false witness, that is, of being a false accuser.  Sins of the tongue can be subtle- sharing a prayer request when it should be kept quiet, giving an opinion that is unfavorable (even if it is true!), our verbal reactions to how others rudely treated us etc.  This can be an ongoing battle as the tongue is a fierce fire to tame.  Each correct word chosen to uplift and edify is a step in the right direction. A beautiful prayer to pray each day is "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord". 

Given to much wine  means "to be in bondage or slavery to wine" or "to be under the restraint of wine". To be effective in her personal witness for the Lord, and as an adviser and teacher of younger women, the mature godly woman must not be in bondage to addictions of the flesh, in particular in this passage, to alcohol. Drunkenness was a big problem on Crete during this period; that's why it's mentioned so prominently in this letter.  Drunkenness is not an addiction we may struggle with, but the importance of not being in bondage or addiction to anything is something to take notice of.  In our day and time there are pleasures that abound for women.  The world assures us that we need "me time", we deserve it.  There is nothing wrong with a hobby or finding joy through fun things, if it is done in moderation.  If we struggle to get through the day without the internet, checking emails, Facebook, Twitter etc., we may need to step back.  If our passion for shopping, nails, shoes etc. drives us to always be seeking to improve our looks, clothes etc. is getting out of hand, we may need to evaluate.  If we cannot function without the cell phone or electronic toy, it is gaining on us instead of us having the upper hand. These are just examples of things that if left unchecked, can draw us into unwise or unprofitable behaior. Again, these are not things that must be avoided, but examples of the things in our lives we may want to moderate. We have so many freedoms and luxuries to indulge in, but it is vitally important to keep them in thier place, not allow them to take time away from our God given priorities. 

Living a Titus 2 life is a journey, not somewhere where we say "we're here".  It is a step by step, daily walk where we seek to follow the leading of the Lord and allow Him to pour His characteristics in our hearts and then we in turn freely pour out His graciousness to others.  Along the path are things to be avoided and things to linger and ponder at. May we continually seek Him as we travel His path and be blessed to be a blessing to others. 

Comments

  1. Powerful post (as always) and convicting, as well...with regard to continually gaurding my comments and controlling my tongue. Goodness, it is so easy to be "caddy" and to make those comments that just don't need to be said. Thanks for the thoughts today.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amen,wonderful post. Thanks for sharing, blessings to you dear friend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We are so on the same page! It was fun to read your post and be reminded of the lessons God is teaching us.

    Thanks for participating!

    Blessings,
    eLisa

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for sharing your commment. It is a joy and blessing to hear from you and your words are appreciated.

Popular posts from this blog

Sometimes We Score, Sometimes We Block

Our family is in the midst of little league soccer season. My youngest son is playing and his enthusiasm is contagious. He is pretty good at the sport, but what makes it so great is that he loves it! He counts the days until the next game or practice. He loves his coach and teammates. He has moved up an age level this year and the players are working more like team, passing to each other and watching out for each other during play. During the last game, my son scored two goals, they were the only goals of the game. In today's game the team scored eight goals. My son came up afterwards to me and said, "I didn't score today, but I blocked". What a powerful truth those words can hold. In life, sometimes we score, sometimes we block. Sometimes we do great things, we excel, we achieve, we meet our goal - we score! There are also times we see the needs of others, sometimes they are sad or hurting, we block their hits. We look out for them so they can score. We

Relationships and Redemption

In every friendship or relationship, there is a common hope that they will grow and flourish. There is something inside of us that longs for a 'happy every after' story. We dream about it and work to make that happen. But in reality, relationships are a challenge. The bridging of values, lifestyles, interests and sacrificing for another are simply hard things to do! No matter how much we dream of the perfect fit, some relationships will not endure the stress.  When differences appear and tensions arise, prayer can change situations, attitudes and ourselves. For the Christian, we know God can transform, change, heal. We cannot change others, but prayer opens us the door for God to step in and answer. God desires transformation, but does not demand it. The gift of free will allows us to choose to say Yes or No to Him.  Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Take notice of the first two words: “If possible …” This implies that some

A Blank Page - A Great Way to Fill It

A blank page - that is the first view of a new blog post. It has been a while since I have faced the blank page of my little blog! A blank page can bring a variety of emotions - emptiness, anxiety, pressure to perform or emotions such as inspiration, encouragement or simply bursting to share something. But there is always something fresh and exciting about the blank page of a New Year. Happy 2023! This is always a time in my life where inspiration and plans are formed and ready to be implemented for greater change. Aspirations may start strong, but alone do not make a difference. It takes consistency to create change. The changing or adding small habits is a key to great changes. A habit that has been beneficial in my life for many years is rising early. It began when the children were small and was the only pocket of time I had to myself. Through the years, mornings have become my favorite time of the day. Now that my husband and I are empty nesters, we go to bed early and rise early.