Your Task Is Not Yet Done
“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.” Titus 2:1-5 (NIV)
Titus was one of the younger men that Paul enlisted to help in his ministry—Timothy and Epaphroditus were others. In this letter, as in his letter to Timothy, Paul was concerned that Titus would have some difficulties because of his age, but Paul entrusted his young associate with the task of bringing the churches in Crete in line with the Christian faith.
I choose these five verses from Paul’s letter because they are his instructions about what should be taught to the seniors of the congregations in Crete. I believe that God’s Word is very clear when it comes to the instructions for seniors—Your Task Is Not Yet Done. Look at what God expects of senior men: to be temperate and self-controlled, sound in faith, loving, have endurance and to be someone that can be respected. What do these mean?
To be temperate means that you have learned moderation and self-control. You are not one to get upset easily. You do not spend money foolishly. You do not eat excessively. You do not cheat on your spouse. You do not allow your desires to control you, but have control of your desires.
Paul is also expressing the need for men of faith, sound faith. It was usual for the elders of the Jewish culture to teach the young men. They were to pass on the beliefs and doctrine of their faith. In essence, they were the Sunday School teachers.
Love and endurance were added to remind senior men what is needed to become men of respect. In my nearly 30-years in the ministry, I have seen many people serve God out of a sense of requirement, but they obviously are not happy about it. Their only reason for serving in that capacity is because they believe nobody else will do it. They walk around sour and grumpy. Nothing makes them happy. They don’t like this and they don’t like that. Many of these people decide to just quit and let someone else do it. When seniors do this, they teach the young people of their church that serving is an obligation that nobody enjoys and that when you get old enough you can just retire from serving God.
Nowhere in the Bible does God mention retirement. As a matter of fact, God does tell us that when we are no longer useful to Him on earth, no longer bearing fruit, that He will prune us out of the branch. God’s Word clearly teaches us that every member of the church body has a task.
Paul then explains that the senior women should also live a life that is to be revered. He used the word “likewise” which means that “in the same way” women are to live their lives. He cautions them not to become slanderers. Why did Paul believe that this needed to be specifically taught to the senior women? Notice that Paul told Titus to teach this. Paul didn’t come to Crete and teach it himself. He knew that he could get into a lot of trouble with the senior women if he personally taught it. So I had better be careful too.
In the culture of that time, women were not held in high esteem. This was not God’s way, but it is how things were. Throughout history God taught that women should be cherished. But a woman in the 1st century was of less value in a household than a donkey. Because of this, women often felt that they had to fight for respect. One way they did this was to put down others in order to make themselves look better, especially the other women in the household. It was still not uncommon in Jewish homes for men to have two or more wives as well as slaves that were used as concubines. They might also have their mother, mother-in-law and even grandmothers living with them.
But as with all scripture, this verse can also apply to modern times. In the many secular jobs that I have had, one thing I discovered is that women can be more vicious than men. The meanest bosses that I have had were women. This is partly because of the uphill struggle that women have in order to get into managerial positions. The meanest costumers that I have dealt with were women. Women often feel that they are not being treated with respect because they are a woman. In modern society, women often are often the worst about stabbing their “friends” in the back in order to get a certain boyfriend, a better job position, etc. Men backstab also, but in the business world men tend to have a larger sense of camaraderie and want to see their friends succeed.
Paul concludes that women are to teach what is good so that young women will know how to treat their husbands, raise their family and honor God.
So all seniors are given the task of teaching others. What then can seniors teach us? What can you teach us about success, gratitude, perseverance and commitment, patriotism, family and neighbors? I want to use a senior couple that I know quite well as our example today…my parents.
My father grew up in Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina. He graduated as Valedictorian, but had some problems that threatened to hold him back in life. He was the oldest child of a large farming family: seven brothers and one sister. His father had died from diabetes. He spent most of his childhood helping his grandfather tend his gardens. He remembers his grandfather as a tyrant who beat him when he was five years old because he had trouble carrying two sacks of seed across several acres of garden. There was little financial hope of attending college.
My father also suffered with an unknown neurological problem, now known as ADHD, and was often in trouble at school or with the law. After nearly killing the town bully when he pulled a knife on my father, the judge gave my grandmother a choice…send him to the military or jail. She signed him up with the Navy at the age of seventeen. While in the Navy, he met his wife, had children, went to Purdue University and attended Officer’s Candidacy School (OCS) and became an officer.
My mother grew up in Pittsfield, Massachusetts where I was born also. She met my father at her church. He was interested in her and would always try to sit near her. He said she was the most beautiful girl in the church. Unfortunately, he rarely got to sit by her because, as my mother explains, this very large girl thought my dad was really cute and would always squeeze in between them.
My parents can remember the many struggles that they had in life. When they lived in California, my dad would go fishing immediately after his duties on base. If he caught some fish we would eat fish. If he didn’t, we would have mayonnaise sandwiches and sometimes tomato sandwiches. I still do not like mayonnaise or fish very much and I remember my sister as a teenager getting sick anytime we had tomatoes.
My dad retired from the Navy at age 39 after twenty-two years of service. He fought in the Korean War and in Vietnam. My mother volunteered on base as a Red Cross nurse during Vietnam, but she was always home for us. She had to be, my dad was usually out at sea for seven months at a time.
My dad never talks much about his service, but I have heard a few stories. He remembers staying awake in a foxhole and fighting for 36 straight hours. He still has one of his combat helmets with a bullet hole that pierced it just inches from his head. He once had to kill one of his own men on orders because the man was going berserk and would have given away their location. He received a special commendation medal from the president for saving his ship during a storm that caused it to crash into the Chesapeake Bay Bridge knocking out several sections of the bridge. He was, in my opinion, a true hero of our country.
After the Navy, he went to work for government contractors and was one of the principal designers of the AEGIS defense system that is used on all Navy Destroyers. During this time he was able to meet President Reagan and had dinner at the white house. He became friends with Senator Trent Lott and was arranging to get me into the Naval Academy with a recommendation from Trent Lott—but God had other plans for me. He also worked for NASA monitoring spy satellites.
My father also spent a total of four years unemployed in his 50s and came very close to losing his home at one point. It was difficult for my father to struggle during those times. He felt horrible that could not help me with college. He was willing to work anywhere, but his age was against him. He did work enough during his last years and was able to rebuild some of his loses. He had several massive heart attacks at the age of 63 and was forced to retire early and take disability.
He now suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, diabetes, and a heart that has more than 50% damage. Nobody would blame him if he decided to concentrate on himself during the remaining years, but that is not his way. He had not yet reached the goal that God had set for him. Even with failing health he continued to serve God.
My father continued to serve as a Gideon. He taught Sunday School. At age 69 he was teaching in the youth department…middle school boys. My parents often have had youth fellowships in their home...opening their home for a DiscipleNow weekend or pool parties.
My parents have always opened their home for church fellowships, meals with pastors and evangelists, a place for missionaries to spend the night, beds for traveling youth groups, etc. My parents have always served in the church as Sunday School teachers, evangelism trainers, Lay Renewal volunteers, church office volunteers, etc.
After my dad’s retirement, my mother was offered her first ever paying job as a church secretary (at the age of 65). She had already been volunteering for many years. My parents joined their church drama team. After many years of directing the nursery ministry, my mother agreed to become the Senior’s Director. My father continued to serve as a deacon and do prison ministry as his health allowed. You see, he had retired twice, but he never planned to retire from serving God. Even when his health now often prevents him from attending church, they still continue to share God with others.
That is the true success. Not that my parents made money or were able to achieve medals and some measure of local fame, but that they continued to serve God through it all. Their perseverance as children of God showed through their personal life and enabled them to achieve many great things. My father’s commitment to serve God only increased his sense of duty in the military and enhanced his own sense of patriotism for his country. Their gratitude for what God has given them has allowed my parents to open their home to friends and neighbors and help teach young men and women what it means to be a good neighbor.
Does God have a purpose for you? Yes. Is it always easy to serve God as a senior? No, not any easier than serving God as a young parent or a college student or a fulltime employee. All service requires sacrifice. I can remember as a child that my Sunday School teachers usually had silver, white or blue hair. Now they usually have dyed, streaked and frosted hair. It was unusual to see a young mother teach Sunday School because the Seniors wanted these young mother’s to get a break from their children. They wanted them to enjoy an hour of Sunday School where they could learn something about God that wasn’t written in crayon. They wanted them to enjoy an hour of worship without constantly telling little Johnnie to be quite or assuring him that the pastor will be through soon.
Children were not silent unless spoken to when I was young. Children did not sit on their hands and behave like perfect angels during worship. Children were expected to act like children. We brought the children in by the busload. And, yes, we had children from broken homes, children who used drugs, children from gangs, children with dirty hands that left marks on the church walls, but the seniors of the church loved and cared for them, and helped to bring them to Jesus. And that acceptance encouraged their parents to attend as well.
God can and does use seniors. Many of you are involved in numerous areas of the church. You teach, you sing in the choir, you visit, you counsel, you prepare meals, you work in the church office, you work in the library, you greet, you drive church vans, etc., etc., etc. But God desires that we all work together. If just one person is sitting on the sidelines, it is as if a finger or toe is missing. It is even possible that you could be one of the vital organs of our church body. If you were to decide to just throw in the towel and retire from serving God…we could all be in trouble.
I want to personally thank each person that does so much through service in our churches, especially those who work tirelessly behind the scenes with little or no thanks ever mentioned. You are teaching us some valuable lessons, just as my parents taught me.
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