Beautiful Living: Older Men Part 3

Good morning (yes, I realize that it may not be morning where you are right now as you read this, but it's always morning somewhere). Update on things going on here before we get back to Titus. Awana has been going really well. We've gained a couple of kids, but at this point I'm not sure how regular they will be, and potentially lost one of my T&T girls due to a family situation. Please continue to keep these children in your prayers. We want to make sure these children know our Savior and as they study the Word of God will be living it out in their lives. Remember to check out my wife's blog for information on the adoption. The link is to the right.

Ok, now back to Titus. We're discussing the qualities that the older men in the church are to have. The next is that they are to be "self-controlled".

The opposite of self-controlled is to be "other-controlled". This is something that we need to be cautious about. What is it that controls you? There are many things that can cause you to lose your self-control. Alcohol is the first thing that I think of. It's common knowledge that drinking too much can lead to loss of control. I've been to wedding receptions where the booze has flown freely. Everyone had fun, even those who didn't drink, yet those who had been drinking were doing things that they never would do without the influence of alcohol. Self-controlled, they were not.

How about anger? I know people who become very angry. They lose control. When this happens, it is a scary thing because you don't know what's going to happen. If you look into their eyes, you don't see them, it's almost like looking into the eyes of an animal. Something that should definitely be avoided.

Being self-controlled is also one of the requirements for the leaders of the church in Titus 1:8. They should be self-controlled, or temperate in their desires. The question that this all comes down to is simply, "do your desires control you and force you to live in order to fulfill those desires?" Unfortunately, the desires that tend to control you are the desires that are sinful. What should happen, is that your desires change to become God's desires. Psalm 37:4 deals with this. “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
This does not mean that God will simply give you whatever you want. This is really dealing with your heart. When your delight is in the Lord, you delight in what He delights in. You desire what He desires. When your hearts desire is for God's hearts desire, then you will get the desires of your heart.

So, do your desires control you, or do you allow God's desires to lead you?

Beautiful Living: Older Men Part 2

As we continue in this study of "Beautiful Living" we see that the next characteristic the older men are to have is that they should be worthy of respect. The King James Version words this as "grave", but in today's wording "grave" just doesn't quite have the same meaning that it should. Remember this is written from the perspective of a 26 year old. The Greek word is "semnos" which could be translated as honorable.

Paul is saying here that the older men should live lives that are honorable, or as the NIV puts it, "worthy of respect".

This is something that all of us, not just the older men although they are the focus of this particular verse, should strive for in our lives. As we age there is more reason for respect. There is a lifetime of experience that gives wisdom. (As long as you learn from your experience.) It's very sad that in our society the elderly have become ridiculed rather than respected. Younger people often have little to no respect for their elders, including me at my rather ripe old age of 26. (Just kidding... sort of.) That lack of respect causes them to miss out on so many of the lessons and relationships that are just waiting to be taken advantage of.

The challenge is this: are you living a life that is honorable? Is your life worthy of respect? We should live our lives in such a way that causes others to respect us. Make good decisions, use your experience to teach others, and avoid the troubles that you know are out there.

I think of many men in my past that I can say have lived honorable lives. These men have been used by God to change who I am from who I could have been. For that, I am grateful.

Beautiful Living: Older Men -Part 1

The first group Paul focuses on in this passage is the older men. He commands them first of all to be temperate. What does this mean? Two different meanings came up as I studied this, moderation and vigilance.



Moderation:

This would be the idea of keeping things in balance in your life and not allowing yourself to do something excessively. Too much of even a good thing can be bad. So, we see that we must be moderate. This includes food, drink, and other activities, or even mindsets.



Far too often we go to extremes and don't have balance in our lives. I like video games... a lot. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but when it becomes the only thing I think about during the day, then there is trouble and the rest of my life starts to suffer. The key is to be moderate and keep it in balance.

Vigilance:

Combines the thoughts of being watchful and endurance. One dictionary describes this as "being sleeplessly watchful". I like this because of a sense of protection from older Christian men. This is important because of the life experiences that these men have. They have experienced many of the things that those who are younger (including myself and my mere 26 years of experience) are going through now.

These are two things that we all should strive for in our lives, moderation and vigilance.


Keep reading Titus, and I'll be back later with some more thoughts. Please leave comments and let me know your thoughts!