I am enjoying these lessons Paul gave Titus—lessons about teaching others, instructions for our own example to others, learning to say “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions. I was going to go on to something else but decided to stay with Titus for just a little longer.
Titus 3:1-2: “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 to show true humility toward all men.”
Boy, Paul said a mouthful with that reminder. We could spend weeks on that sentence alone. First, just the word “remind.” It means to remind quietly, and to bring back into remembrance. To remember something, means we must have already heard it. This was not new instruction, it was something that had probably already been taught but the people had forgotten.
Titus was to remind them to: 1) be subject to rulers and authorities; 2) be obedient; 3) be ready, prepared, to do good; 4) slander no one; 5) be peaceable and considerate; and 6) show true humility to all people.
As I read that verse this morning the one reminder that was most noticeable to me was number 4, “slander no one.” The word for “slander” is blasphemeo (blas-fay-meh’-o) in the Greek. It is obviously the word from which we get our word, blaspheme. It means to vilify or malign; specially, to speak impiously. According to Strong’s Concordance it has been translated as blaspheme, defame, rail on, revile, speak evil of.
That word practically defines the attitude of our society. It isn’t enough to disagree, or even to oppose, we must slander, defame, revile and speak evil of in order to get our point across. It doesn’t seem to matter in what arena that plays out. It is, however, not to be the way of the men and women of God. Paul had a different approach for us – tomorrow.
