Titus 2

When I read Titus 2 I think of those prisoners I knew at the downtown Texas jail. These guys are new Christians, most of them. But all of them are like Cretans Titus was disciplining. They are just starting to know what it means to live righteously. A lot of old patterns have to change. It will not happen overnight. Old habits take time to break. There will be a lot of failures, small or big.

Paul gives instructions. First for older men (2) - "temperate ... sensible, faith, love, perseverance."

This may seem only right and normal to us but it was new to the Cretans, to Greeks in general.

Paul mentions next older women (3) - to the reverent, not gossips, instead teach good things. Paul has to mention not getting drunk, another old habit to break. We do not usually associate older women with excessive drinking. But it happens enough, usually done in private.

Young women then get two verses (3-4). I think it is interesting that Paul takes pains to mention that women must choose to love their husbands and children. Love is a chose after all. Paul knew that.

For these women, husbands were likely chosen for them by their parents. Paul takes a radically different view of marriage. In the old system women were required to obey their husbands. Husbands were expected to demand obedience, perhaps by beating, not by love. Paul is preaching a whole new way of thinking about marriage and family. A husband was to love his wife, as God loves his people.

I find it interesting, worthy of note (9) that Paul instructs a wife to submit to her own husband and bond slaves to submit to his own master. Wouldn't this to be understood? A wife does not have to submit to all men. A slave does not have to submit to all masters. Why does Paul think it important to use "own"? He states it the same way in Philippians.

I suppose he wants to make it clear the hierarchy is only to the proper person. Women otherwise do not have to submit to men in general. Men, no matter what their position, do not have to submit to other men, only those to whom they are bonded. Paul seems to imply an equality among people in general here.

Bond slave seems a foreign concept to us. But if you make a contract with someone you are bonded to them. If you take out a mortgage on a house or have payments for a car you should consider yourself a bond slave, required to pay it until it is done.