Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Titus 2:5, “To be self-controlled, pure, keepers at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”

Background

Whenever we read a verse like this, what is the one possible sticking point that might give us reason to pause? It’s the phrase regarding wives submitting to their own husbands, isn’t it? If there’s ever a lesson in a couples Sunday School class that can raise the anxiety levels and make the teacher wish he had a substitute that day, it’s the lesson about wives submitting to their husbands. But as you can see, that point is not the only behavior being extolled. It gets the most attention, but it is only one of many areas that Paul is stressing here. And interestingly enough, Paul is not even the one who is preaching to these young women. He is instructing Titus to tell the older women to admonish the young women to do these things and be this way. These truths that the young women need to know, the older women already knew and believed and embraced. All of them. Not just the ones that aligned with their particular upbringing or meshed with their particular personality. They knew the life of the believer was defined by surrender.

Application

So they understood what it meant to be self-controlled, to surrender the desire to fulfill every impulse and gratify every want. They understood the value of purity, surrendering the part of them that wanted to conform to culture or go along with the crowd. They understood the importance of running a home and making it a haven for their family. They surrendered the desire to look for greater satisfaction elsewhere. And they lived out the call to be kind, surrendering their need to always be right or to answer brashness with brashness. Their Savior certainly taught them that. So when it came time to relate to their husbands, their hearts were already shaped according to God’s word. They didn’t need to question the role of the wife submitting to their husband. They saw God’s design all around them, and upholding God’s way and truth became their upmost calling. Sacrifice and surrender, they glorify our God and King, and that is what the world needs more of.

Charge

As we seek Him today, think about an area where you struggle to sacrifice and surrender. Ask God to work on you in a way that makes you more like Christ.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words