The Who Takes Care of the How

Titus 1:4-5 “That they may teach the young women to be sober…to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”

If I were to ask you to define blasphemy, you would probably respond with a list of words or phrases that would be considered blasphemous. And you would be right; those words or phrases would definitely fall under the category of blasphemy. But when you look at what God considers blasphemy, the word means so much more than just the things that people say. Notice here in this passage that Paul is telling young women how they ought to live and act, and his reason is “that the word of God be not blasphemed.” This gives the idea that if a young woman does not behave in the way described in these verses, she actually could be blaspheming without saying a word!

That was the negative side to this truth, but verses 9-10 give us the positive side. This passage is addressed to slaves, and Paul says, “Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.” We should not be content to just avoid dishonoring the Lord; we should aspire to “adorn” God and His truth. Our actions every day should point people to the goodness of God.

The servants are told to be obedient to their masters, not talking back to them, not stealing from them (“purloining”), but working with integrity. Did you know that this applies to us in this age as well? How we serve says something about Who we serve.

For example, if you are serving yourself, your actions will be unthoughtful and selfish. No matter how hard I try, I cannot serve the way I should if my focus is on myself. Selfishness is our “default mode.” We don’t have to try to be selfish-it comes naturally. We must daily surrender our desires to the Lord and turn our focus upon Him. When we are serving God sincerely, we will not serve ourselves. Being submissive to earthly masters-whom we can see-is a way to be submissive to God-whom we can not see.

Elsewhere, Paul tells servants not to be guilty of “eyeservice, as menpleasers.” If I am only serving my earthly master, I will fall into the habit of only working when the “boss” is around. On the other hand, if I am serving my heavenly Master, I will work with consistency and integrity. The focus of these verses is not how I am serving (in the workplace, at home, at church, etc.). Instead, the focus is on Whom I am serving today. The “Who” takes care of the “how.”

Do you want to blaspheme or do you want to adorn the Lord with your life? The way to adorn the truth of God is to turn your focus to God and His desires for you. If you do this each day, your actions will reflect the God that you serve. Yes, the “Who” takes care of the “How.”