Titus 2:9-10

A slave? Yes, most of us have felt like slaves. Working all day everyday for someone else; doing what they say when they say. Yes a SLAVE!!! And as a slave, we pretty much just want to get the day overwith. But that just isn't good enough for Paul. In Titus 2:9 Paul says,"Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted,..."

Isn't it enough that I just do my job and do it well? I want my pay check and my boss wants a job done. That should be enough! I mean I can understand the "not to steal" part and even the "not to talk back" part, but having to prove you can be trusted or even worse, "try to please them." I doubt very seriously that my boss has hired me to be their friend or even to have someone to please them, but lets start with the easy ones first.

"Not to talk back." Funny thing I've noticed about being disrespectful; it never brings you any respect. So, If you talk back; you lose your job (or in the case of a true slave; lose respect and be disrespected). I get that!

"Not to steal." Seems easy to understand and most of us wouldn't dream of stealing from our bosses. However, that word "steal" is really the word nosphizo "purloin, embezzle, withdraw covertly." That is what we think of when we say "stealing" and we would never do that (I hope you wouldn't). But this word also means something as simple as "to set apart, seperate, divide." That doesn't sound quite as bad. And it probably could be applied to all of us in regard to all that little stuff from the office that makes its way to our pockets and gets emptied on the top of the dresser at home. No we aren't being covert, but it doesn't belong to us. If your boss knew; he wouldn't be pleased. That is the point. To show that we can be fully trusted. Why? To Adorn the Gospel. If we can't be fully trusted; then why would anyone trust what we say about the Gospel.

But this all seems like something we all should do, so the question that pops into my head is why does he direct this instruction to slaves only?

Titus 2:6 self-control

"Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded." (KJV). I remember one time when I gave my children $5 each for helping me with a project and told them we would go to the store so they could buy something if they wanted. Even though I encouraged them to save their money; they had to spend it; every penny. It became a competition to see who could get the most things. They bought the stupidest little junk despite my constant reminder that they could save the money to buy something they really want later. There is no self-control for a kid with money in his pocket.

That's why Paul says to encourage the young men to be sober minded (self-controled). The verse does say "likewise" just like it did for the older women; which means that everything that was said to the older men, applies to the younger men. However, the one thing Paul wants to emphasize is self-control. Notice that he uses that word "exhort" or encourage (parakaleo), which means to come alongside, admonish, beseech, entreat, instruct, strengthen, console, and even beg. That word alone kinda gives you the idea that this is pretty important. And notice that he doesn't say that the younger men should be self-controled, but that they should be encouraged in that direction. Just like my kids can't really be expected to think of saving their money on their own. I have to encourage them to do it, or beseech, entreat, and even beg them to do it. Do we do that for the young men in our churches? No way!! We tend to say, "what they do isn't any of my business." If I took that kinda attitude toward my kids; then they wouldn't save a dime. They would grow up to be the kinda impulse spenders that the credit card companies just love. I care about them and their future too much to just sit back and let that happen. After all, they have to support me when I'm old. What a thrill it is for me to hear my kids come home from shopping at a thrift store and brag about how little they spent. And what a thrill it would be to come alongside, encourage, instruct, and strengthen a young man and watch him develop into a Godly man who pours his life into serving Christ. He may do things that I can't do. He may reach people that I can't reach. It's not enough for me to have it all together (well, still working on that too) but I need to help others to get it together as well. After all, my time will be over and someone will need to take over.

So how does a young man learn to be self-controled? Titus 2: 7-8, "In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech..." In other words we got to get control to give control. They need to see it, so we have to be it. So, get it, and give it. Got It?