You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
Likewise,
teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be
slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is
good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and
children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to
be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign
the word of God. (Titus 2:1-5)
If
I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am
only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of
prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if
I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am
nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to
hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (I Corinthians 13:1-3)
One
of the things I’ve been thinking about recently is the whole idea of what we’re
supposed to be like. So often, what I hear described in Scripture and what
seems important in my life as so far apart. In today’s passage, we get a
picture that probably doesn’t correspond to what you or I think in terms of a
person who is a success.
We
are supposed to be temperate. According to the dictionary, that means we’re to
show moderation or self-restraint, or it means that we aren’t to be given to extremes
– whether or temperature, mood, or something else. We tend to think of it as not drinking alcohol or using drugs, but it’s about over-indulgence,
not abstinence. Since I’m a non-drinker, non-drug-user, non-smoker, and my idea
of foul language would raise eyebrows (in the sense that it’s atypical), some folks might say I’m temperate. Still, when it comes to food or emotional
temperatures, I know better.
We’re
supposed to be worthy of respect. What in the world does that mean today?
According to the dictionary, respect is “a feeling of deep admiration for
someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements” or
“due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others.” How
does a person come to deserve deep admiration or regard? The definition suggests
that it’s partly by having or gaining abilities, qualities, or achievements.
But that brings to mind the beginning of I Corinthians 13. Since our first
commandment is to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths and to love our neighbors as ourselves, how does one grow worthy of respect in
that regard? And how does one do that without making the respect of others our
idol?
The
next thing we’re supposed to be is self-controlled. That seems to tie back into
being temperate.
The
last thing we’re supposed to be on today’s list is sound in faith, in love, and
in endurance. To be sound means to be in good condition, not damaged or
diseased. Of course, as fallen folks living in a fallen world, we can’t help
but be damaged or diseased.
As I
consider all of this, my stories come to mind. There’s a “hex” that is supposed
to give a person courage. Once they use the hex, they’re supposed to go ahead
and do whatever it was they were afraid of doing. What most of the people who
use the hex don’t understand is that it’s really a prayer, admitting to the dernai
(the Lord) that they need courage. But the other key that comes to mind is that
when someone uses this “hex,” their stepping out to do whatever they were
afraid of turns their attention from their fear and failure to actually doing
the thing. It turns the focus from self to action.
And
that is, I think, what we need to do. Rather than worrying about whether we’re
being temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in
love, and in endurance, perhaps we should be asking ourselves, what is the temperate,
respectable, self-controlled, sound thing we can do, and get on with it.
(More
on this passage tomorrow.)
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