Good Morning Friends,
“You must teach what is in accord with sound
doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect,
self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the
older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or
addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the
younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and
pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so
that no one will malign the word of God. Similarly, encourage the young men to
be self-controlled.” (Titus 2:1-6)
Paul had advice and challenge for every group
of people. Older men, older women, younger women, and younger men have
different needs and different temptations that are unique to their stage in
life. One challenge is universal to all of the groups Paul mentions:
self-control. That challenge is spoken clearly to the older men, younger women,
and younger men, and implied with the older women in the comment about
addiction to wine.
Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit
(Galatians 5:23). It is a characteristic that God, by His Holy Spirit, desires
to develop in every believer. Yet, it is a characteristic that none of us will
have completely conquered, no matter what stage of life we find ourselves in. Whether
young or older, whether male or female, self-control is a challenge we always
need to hear.
Self-control manifests itself differently in
men and women. We face different challenges to self-control at different stages
of our lives, too. It is always a characteristic that we must be developing and
never a characteristic that we can think we have fully developed.
There is an area of your life in which God is
challenging you to develop greater self-control. It’s not the same area in
which He is giving that challenge to those around you, but in your life you
know in what area God is making that challenge.
His, by Grace, Steve
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