Titus 2:1-15

How are you doing? What is that question really asking? It depends on who is asking, and who they are asking. When my family asks me how I’m doing, they want to know how I’m feeling physically. I have a progressive lung disease and some days are worse than others. When your boss comes up to you on the job, and asks that question, they want to know if you are making progress on the task at hand.

How are you doing, and what are you doing, are singular questions. I sometimes give a smart-alec answer, and say I’m doing good, at least when anybody’s watching. However based on what Paul wrote to Titus we can see that for a Christian the question how, or what are you doing is a serious question.

As Christians, what we believe and who we are, determines how and what we are doing. Paul told Titus to teach appropriate sound doctrine. Christians who believe the right way will act the right way. Paul told Titus to teach Christians to both believe right and to act right. He broke it down into small groups not because he could encompass the totality of what Christian behavior is, but so that he could give examples that would have broad application. Older men should be temperate, worthy of respect, self controlled and sound of faith. Older women were to live reverent lives that were examples to the younger women. They were to teach the younger women how to be good wives and mothers. Young men were to set examples for their children and the world by doing good. They were to show integrity, seriousness, and maturity in everything. Their lives should give no one something bad to say about them. Even slaves were to be good examples by being honest, hard-working and trustworthy.

How and what are we doing? We should be “eagerly doing good”, so that “…in every way we will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive”. So, How are we doing?