Titus 2 Teach them reverence Part 19

Titus 2:3

“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.”

Paul starts off this verse with “likewise” to show us that what he has just said about the older men also applies to the older women. They too must be spiritually mature and wise, and use the benefit of their years of experience to help teach those who are younger than them. Many times, throughout the book of Titus, Paul tells him to teach and once again we see that even the older members still need to be taught. We are never done learning and there is always room for improvement. 

Paul tells Titus to teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live. That means that in the way they dress and act, indeed, in all their conduct they must act as quiet servants in the house of the Lord. A reverent woman is one who has a spirit of joyful submission to the life that God has established for her as a woman. The next qualities Paul speaks of say a lot about the Cretan women. In basic terms, Paul is telling them to quit drinking too much and to stop gossiping. The more wine you drink, the looser the tongue becomes, and it seems these women were getting together to drink and gossip. Not unlike many “girls’ nights” can be now adays. Think before you drink and think before you speak. Gossip and over-indulgence is a lack of self-control and just as the men should show self-control, so too, the women ought to show self-control over their tongues and in all they do. 

If we turn to 1 Timothy 2:12 Paul wrote, “I do not permit women to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” This tells us that when Paul wrote they are to “teach what is good”, he meant they are to teach in an informal and unofficial capacity. They are to teach the younger women in their homes and by their lifestyles. They are to model what is good and give advice in the day-to-day activities of life. If they see a younger woman struggling in life or with their husband or children, they should reach out to help, advise and set a good example. We need older women in the church to be a godly example and to use their years of experience to help and teach the younger women in the church. Younger women should seek to attain the qualities Paul talks about here because change does not happen overnight. Reverence and self-control take time to learn and practice so they should seek to learn them now, indeed, we must all seek to be reverent, self-controlled, wise and caring individuals, willing to help others as we go through life.

1. Why is self-control so important?

2. Turn to 1 Timothy 2. What does Paul say about women there?

3. Why did Paul tell Titus to teach the older women? 

4. How does one show reverence in their life?

5. What can older women do to teach the younger women?

Dear Lord, thank-you for being a gracious and good God. Thank-you for the gifts and talents you give and help me to use them to Your glory and honor. Use me to be a model of self-control and wisdom so that by Your Spirit I might be a help to those around me. Help me to accept and ask for help when I need it and to learn from the wisdom You have given the women in my life. Forgive me when I have been ungrateful or unhelpful and help me to do better. Not because I am worthy, but through the forgiveness given through Christ Jesus. Amen