“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.”
~ Titus 3:1-2
The past two days we studied verses and reflected on the use of gentleness in times of instruction and correction. Now, let us think about today’s introductory verses, again written by Paul. From my Bible’s introduction of this book, I learned Paul was writing to Titus, a close friend and protégé of his, who helped Paul organize and lead churches in the eastern half of the Roman Empire. Paul wrote these instructions to help Titus lead the troubled church on the island of Crete.
Growing up, my mom would occasionally use the warning, “Don’t be a Cretan” to inform me of my wrongdoing. I didn’t know until many years later that this expression actually could be related to Paul’s warning to Titus, who quoted and affirmed a 6th century Cretan poet, Epimenides, who wrote, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons” (Titus 1:12). Putting this verse together with those above, we can conclude that though Paul knew the Cretans to be “unfit for doing anything good” (1:16) he certainly believed they could be instructed, corrected and learned in the gospel and cause a reversal in character.
No one asks to be scornfully criticized. When we rebuke someone and spew degrading, destructive words about their character, we are essentially destroying that person’s psyche. We may consider the negative things we say toward or about another to be “just words” or light enough that “she’ll get over it.” But actually, the words we cast off our tongues can come down on someone like a crushing blow. What if that person in subject doesn’t hear the words, what if we just share them with someone else, or say them under our breath, or just think them? God hears us. The other person hears us. It is just as if we blindfolded the unfortunate person of whom we are speaking, put them in a boxing ring and went off on them punching and beating. This may seem a harsh analogy, but consider how you felt the last time someone spoke slanderously and you were the blindsided one in the ring?
The next time you find yourself readying to put on the “boxing gloves” or already standing over your downed opponent before you even realized what happened, consider the gift of grace, the forgiveness extended to us all. Help your brother or sister back up, or take a break to step away before any damage is done. What can we do in these moments? Apologize, ask for forgiveness, offer a hug, and ask for prayer to be more considerate of others. Show them the gentleness Christ had toward both sides—those who slandered Him and those with whom it may have been difficult to show considerate peacefulness.
Given the Time 