But speak thou the things which become sound
doctrine: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity,
in patience. The aged women likewise,
that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given
to much wine, teachers of good things;
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands,
to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient
to their own husbands, that the Word of God be not blasphemed. Young men likewise exhort to be sober
minded. In all things shewing thyself a
pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity,
sincerity. Titus, Chapter 2, verses 1-7.
Have you ever been in a situation where someone is
griping about their husband or wife? After a few minutes it seems that the rest
of the people in the group start pointing out the flaws of their spouse, as
well. On the ride home, these petty
little flaws seem to be magnified because they have been publicly brought to
your attention. God tells us in this
passage that we are to be good examples to younger generations and should not
get caught up in such discussions.
The younger generation learns by example and so did
we. If their parents, grandparents or
elders have a drink every time there is some type of problem, it sets a bad
example. I’m not saying that an
occasional drink is wrong, but it can become a crutch for all of the little
problems that arise in life. It sends a
real negative message when our children, grandchildren and friends see us turn
to the bottle every time we have a problem or we have a disagreement with our
spouse. They think that is the way
things are supposed to be handled.
If they see us always complaining about our spouse,
they are more apt to do the same with their spouse. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t
want my children arguing with their spouses or turning to the bottle or
recreational drugs to help them escape the problems that arise. I would much rather be a positive example of
how God works in my daily life and in my marriage.
Because this is an example of how I’ve applied this Bible passage to my life, it doesn't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the passage.
