Skip to main content

Older Men

            Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. (Titus 2:2)

Oh, here we go. A single, modern (not post-modern) woman thinking I have a right to comment on the behavior of “older men.” It doesn’t make it any better because the comments are about one of the current subhuman classes. We must be ever so careful if we talk about people of certain skin-tones, or who claim to have a gender that is “new and improved,” but gutting guys, that’s a current gladiator sport. And older men? Well, they’re derelicts from a primitive age and they don’t tend to like the way things are headed, so yeah…I can attack older men with impunity. Right?

There are two issues with the paragraph you just read. First, I don’t intend to attack anyone. Second, the passage above wasn’t written by me. They aren’t my words. So, trusting to God for wisdom, let’s walk on some eggshells, or maybe on rice-paper. First, let’s define the “older” part. In the Roman Empire, when Paul wrote to Titus, “older” in reference to men referred to those who were at least 60 years old. For those who need to swallow that pill: Bon Appétit. Women were older at 50.

These men were to be taught to be temperate, or calm and controlled. They were also to be worthy of respect and self-controlled. If those aren’t all the same thing, they’re closely related, and all of them have to do with learning what not to do in their treatment of others. The image that comes to mind is a video of a photographer moving toward a charging grizzly, hands (and camera) up. We’ve seen cats arch their backs and fluff out their tails. I’ve seen turkey vultures turn to stare me down with their wings outstretched. It’s all the same idea. “See how big and bad I am? You don’t want to mess with me. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.” Older men are to stop doing that.

As an alternative, older men were to be sound in faith, love, and endurance. None of those requires that older men turn into welcome mats that the rest of us can walk on, so there are times when sound in faith, in love, and in endurance may look something like what men are supposed to stop doing. But the focus changes. “Look how big and bad I am” is all about me. “Faith, love, and endurance” tend to be more about God and the people around them.

Two ideas come to mind. The first is that if older men are to be taught this, there’s no need to wait until they’re older to start teaching them. The second is that there’s nothing in Scripture that suggests we shouldn’t teach women the same things. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more