I'd Better Put Some Thought Into Her Christmas Present

I appreciate my wife so much. I'm busy working and spending all kinds of hours doing what I do and if it weren't for her we wouldn't have much Christmas going on at home. I get focused on all the things I have to do to be religious and get the year wrapped up and never have to worry much about what's going on at home for the family for Christmas. She does all the work.

My wife made sure the house got decorated. I carried the boxes upstairs but she put everything where it's supposed to go. I carried the boxes back downstairs with the stuff the Christmas stuff replaced around the house.

My wife bought all the kids their presents. I didn't have to do any of it. I assume, because she has every other year, she also bought me a present. All I ever have to do is buy for her.

I had better put a little thought into what I give her for Christmas, too.

She hosts a Christmas tea for the ladies of the church. She organizes and hosts a Christmas dessert party for our neighborhood. She baked cookies, made fudge and toffee, and got our Christmas cards and letter out. She bought a jigsaw puzzle we put together as a family. She bought a new game we played as a family. She has prepared each of the kids' favorite meals while they are here for break.

Oh, and we have a couple of families in the church who are dealing with some life-threatening, life-altering issues and she's prepared and delivered meals to both of them. She made sure one of these families had Christmas presents to open, as well.

I'd better put a little thought into what I give her for Christmas!

And Paul tells Titus to communicate to the older ladies so that they can teach the younger ladies to "be subject to their own husbands." (2:5) Looking at this from our culture it looks like I might have ammunition to force my wife to do what I say. Just rip this out of the context of the passage and the context of the culture and try to force your wife to submit. I dare you.

Or, keep it in the context of the passage that also says that the older women are to teach the younger women to "fulfill their duties at home" (2:5) whick literally means, "be the despot of the house." That is, be very much in charge of what's happening in the home.

In the context of the culture there was societal pressure for every woman to submit to every man. As soon as a man walked in the room, no matter what relationship she had to him if any, every woman was to submit to what he said.

Paul was actually raising the value and independence of women while reducing their responsibilites to submit. The only man a women must submit to is her own husband, not any other male. And, she is absolutely in charge of what's going on in the house. There's no way any man would come into a house where the despot is in charge and tell her what to do in any way, shape or form.

She is free to fully exercise her gifts, intellect, talents and leadership skills and I'd better not get in her way! In fact, what I have to do is honor her. I have to lift her up. I need to tell her and show her that I love her, respect her and appreciate all that she does on behalf of the Lord for our children, our friends, neighbors, church, and me.

I'd better put some thought into what I giver her for Christmas!

Programs Don't Do This

We can't program this. There's no way to organize this so it works following a set of simple guidelines. It's too complicated.

People can make it happen, though. It has to be a priority. It has to be genuine and there has to be an honest desire for it to occur.

Everyone has to understand their role and be mature about the process. A young pastor who's been trained in sound doctrine teaches it to people who've experienced more than he has. These recipients, take what they're taught and combine it with their experiences to teach other people who will undoubtedly go through these experiences at some point in their lives. And, that young pastor might even be a recipient.

Seems simple. Seems biblical. Why not?

Too often in churches today everyone wants the pastor to teach to their experiences. He'd better be relevant or they'll go find a pastor who is.

Well, if that the case then we should hire an older man to be our pastor because he's obviously experienced more. But, the young adults will argue, his experiences as a 20-year old were far different than theirs, now. He can't relate to them. He's irrelevant.

So, let's hire a young pastor. He'll bring passion and fire. But, he'll also bring inexperience. The older adults will argue that he's not speaking to them. His teaching lacks the depth that raising and launching teenagers will inevitably produce. He can't relate to them. He's irrelevant.

Older adults still want to be viewed as wise, mature and with something to offer the younger adults. But, somewhere along the way their doctrine gets stuck in traditional ruts. You know, husbands must lead. Wives must submit. Women should stay home, not work outside the home, the children need this.

Younger adults would love input. But they're done with old traditions. They are impersonal and irrelevant. Besides, in this economy, what family can really live on one income? Housing prices, SUV's, private schools, and traveling soccer teams are priced out of sight. Wives are college-educated, maybe even an MBA. Husbands are passive. And, besides, God created us all equal, right? Does it matter who leads?

Oh yes, so right. What does an older woman with only a high school degree who's stayed at home all her life really have to offer a young, high powered female exec? And, what does an older man who climbed the corporate ladder to became a vp and sacrificed hours with his family to provide financially for them have to offer a younger man whose more interested in living near the poverty line and taking his family on peace corp trips while his wife is studying for her MBA?

A LOT!

Then, who's going to pastor this group and what does he or she really have to offer them?

Modern church. Only God could make this work.

Who's Teaching What to Whom?

So, who's teaching whom, what?

Did you know that after the verb "communicate" (NET) or "teach" (NIV) in Titus 2:1 there's not another verb in the Greek text till the end of v.3 where Paul refers to older women teaching what is good.

And, that word "communicate" literally means to preach or lecture.

Paul had been instructing Titus for years on sound doctine. Now, he left him in Crete to finish the work of putting together the leadership structure in the church there.

Though, Titus was coming to know sound doctrine there were cultural things relevant to Crete that he did not know well, yet. At least, he hadn't studied Cretan Culture as long as he had studied sound doctrine under Paul.

Paul left him to strengthen the fabric and foundation of the church there in Crete. But he didn't know the culture. So, how could he teach the young Cretans how to treat their husbands or wives, how to raise their children in a godly home, how to run a godly household, how to manage finances biblically, how to run a business and treat customers, and other godly behaviors? He needed help from mature Cretans. But they didn't know sound doctrine. And, they needed to learn it and learn it fast.

So, Paul helped Titus set his priorities. He needed to communicate sound doctrine to the mature Cretans so that they could give relevant, cultural application with the doctrine to the younger adults in the church. He didn't have a lot of time for give and take, or a dialogue. He just needed to get the information out. So, he would have lectured a lot.

Mature adults tend to be better, more efficient learners. Mature adults process information more efficiently finding their applications faster and more accurately.

So, if I want to build into the fabric and foundation of Grace Church, I need to communicate sound doctrine to the older adults in the church and have you give relevant application to the doctrine and pass it on the younger adults.

Sounds like a pretty good idea to me. What do you think?