Titus 2:2

NASB	NLT	VOICE
2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.	2 Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience.	2 Here’s what I want you to teach the older men: enjoy everything in moderation, respect yourselves and others, be sensible, and dedicate yourselves to living an unbroken faith demonstrated by your love and perseverance.

Young Titus Teaching the Elders

Paul is instructing a young pastor in Crete (Titus) how to teach the older generations. Six things are the core focus: temperance, dignified, self-controlled, sound faith, love, and perseverance. 

To be temperate means to practice moderation and self-control, focused on drinking alcohol. Culturally, excessive drinking was common and moderation was a high valued trait of Christians at that time. To be dignified means having a high sense of respectability and honor. In the early church, the older men were expected to be role models for younger generations. It was viewed as a very serious expectation. To be self-controlled means to exercise spiritual maturity. Like moderation, self-control is a trait that would separate Christians from their pagan neighbor communities. To be sound in faith means to have a healthy foundation of the core beliefs of Christianity. It requires a deep understanding and unwavering trust in God and His promises. It also involves being capable of teaching and defending the faith. To be loving is the greatest command according to Jesus. It means to be selfless and sacrificial in a way that seeks the best for others. To be persevering means to stay steadfast in the face of trials and difficulties. In the context of the early church, believers often faced persecution, and perseverance was a way to keep their faith. 

The Generational Struggle

The older generation has a responsibility to be a mentor and guide for their younger believers. Still, there’s a struggle today. In my eight years in Youth and Children’s Ministry, I observed my church excel at this. To any of you reading this, rest assured I am not calling you out. I love you all! Nonetheless, in the Church, it’s a struggle. Many younger members are straying from organized religion. They do so because of experiences of judgment, abuse, and bullying. They also leave due to the enforcement of the LAWS instead of the LOVE. The older generations have consistently talked down about the younger generations. They have not helped the next generation succeed in the best way possible. The younger generations are lost and misguided. They follow the wrong influencers. They need the ones closest to them to be their brightest lights. What do I mean by that? We need to live by these traits. We need to show these traits in everything we say and do. 

Living Out the Godly Life

Moderation

We need to show that drinking alcohol is okay, but in moderation. It’s not a source to go to when we have a problem or need to loosen up with friends. It’s something that we can use to casually unwind and learn the limits and boundaries when it comes to drinking. 

Dignity

We need to share how we found our purpose through Christ and how Christ has guided us to our purpose. It’s not clear for everyone. Maybe it has been clear for some of you. Nevertheless, the younger generations don’t want a lesson. They want a story. They want connection. They want authenticity. They don’t want a school lesson. 

Self-Control

We need to share our ways of accomplishing self-control. The Holy Spirit helps us grow this fruit. There are also tools given to us by the world to help us work alongside this fruit. Maybe when you’re out shopping, and you know you wanna snack, you choose only healthy snacks. This helps control the sugar and bad stuff you eat. Maybe when you’re deciding to go to the store, you walk instead of drive. You have put a porn block on your phone. This is because you struggle with looking up inappropriate content on your phone. Again, they want to hear the REAL struggles you experienced. These are struggles you worked through via both the Holy Spirit and real world applications. 

Sound Faith

We need to share our sound faith. What are the things that we truly believe in the Bible? What are the things we struggle with in the Bible? How did we work through those struggles? These are important things for the next generation to learn about at a younger age. For example, one of the things I used to struggle with is the stories about sexual immorality. I heard about it and just took it for what it was. Still, the more I studied it, the more I recognized how nuanced it was. I can better understand how to apply it to our world today. It led to an entire series that I wrote because I was THAT passionate about it. 

Love

We need to, before everything else in my opinion, share our love. The same type of love that Jesus gives to us is what we need to give to the younger generations. It’s easy to view the younger generations through a judgmental lens because, “We were never like that.” No, but yes. Each generation faces new challenges. The current generation grew up in the tech world. They need love more than ever. They need love, guidance, boundaries, and more. They need help to understand the world. They need guidance to figure out what is appropriate and not when it comes to tech. They need to learn what they should and shouldn’t do on their tech. We need to quit demonizing technology for kids’ downfall. Technology is not solely to blame. We should start re-writing the narrative to show that these things can be used for good when used properly. Remove the all or nothing out of things and start taking things bit by bit. 

Perseverance 

We need to continue fighting when things give up. Kids look to us when things are stressful and chaotic to see how we react. We need to not necessarily, “put on a brave face” but we need to be upfront honestly. There are different ways to tell different age groups, “Things are not okay right now, but they will be.” We need to stop lying to kids. Am I saying that they need to know EVERYTHING to the smallest detail? No. Am I saying do kids deserve to know when something is wrong, even when it doesn’t involve them? Yes. Kids will grow up with anxiety if they are not taught the proper boundaries and balances in this area. 

Reflection Questions:

1. How do you live a life that is temperate and dignified?
2. How do you live a life that is self-controlled and of sound faith? 
3. How do you live a life that is loving and persevering? 

Call to Action

Take this time to think on how you act and talk. Think about the young ones in your life. Ask yourself, “Would I want someone like me to be their role model?” Regardless of the answer, spend time with God. Ask how you can better show His goodness to future generations.

Next slice of manna: Manna for the Mind #271