Titus 2:3-5 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things--that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
This talks about older women, but these are things younger women should be working on. Here is the to-do list for us:
1. be reverent in behavior
2. not slanderers (gossips)
3. not given to much wine (not getting drunk)
4. teachers of good things for the younger women:
a. love their husbands
b. love their children
c. be discreet
d. be chaste
e. be homemakers
f. be good
g. be obedient to their own husbands
Why are we to do these things? So that others will not malign and blaspheme the Word of God. I would challenge you to study out the meanings of all these qualities for yourself by using a dictionary.
5 comments:
what would you say to the women who only meet men that think it is okay to have more than one woman at a time? i know it is not necessarily scriptural but i feel strongly that what a women is willing to give to her husband should be given back to her...if a woman is faithful to her husband shouldnt her husband be faithful to her in return?
I'm not sure I follow your thought here. But I do believe that men and women are to be faithful to their own spouses. There are many scriptures that speak of lust and adultery, which leads me to believe that God takes a dim view of men having more than one woman.
thank you for answering this...i just needed to hear someone elses perspective that believed in God and read the scripture. like you, i have also noticed how often the new testament deals with adultery and i am aware of verses that specifically address men that do service in the church having only one wife...but since i also know the stories in the old testament...for example, the stories of David and Solomon...and have heard more and more people "open" to the idea of men having more than one wife now days(as some mormons teach). not to mention i have also became aware of the popularity of a certain show that portrays the lifestyle of polygamy and have heard some stories about real polygamists in this country...mixed with the increase of men and women that have already given in to "partnership" instead of marriage recently...i just became a little annoyed/disheartened and needed to hear someone who knows the scripture and God to help me clear the confusion going on around me for myself. i want to make sure my convictions are what the Lord teaches and not just things i want or demand out of my own concept of right and wrong. thanks again. i appreciate your time.
I would like to add something more. You mentioned Old Testament figures such as David and Solomon having more than one wife and alluded to the fact that there are those who justify this type of lifestyle based on this.
Something people who do this forget is that just because something is in the Bible doesn't mean we are to do it. Many times God blessed these men not because of what they did but in spite of it. If you study out all the instances of polygamy in the Bible that are described in any detail, you will find that the marriages were less than happy. They paid consequences for their actions.
I would challenge anyone who uses the examples of polygamy in the Old Testament to show me where their marriages were enhanced and happier because of it. You won't find it. They were full of envy and backbiting between the wives. Look at Sarah & Haggar, Rebekkah & Leah, Hannah & her sister-wife, Elizabeth & her sister-wife.
When God created Adam and Eve, he made only the two of them. If he intended polygamy I think he would have made more wives for Adam. He said a man shall leave his mother and father and cleave unto his wife. That is singular not plural.
Clearly, polygamy is not a God-ordained pattern for marriage.
We need to remember this:
Not all things in the Bible are prescriptive, meaning we are supposed to do them or are okayed to do them. Some times they are simply descriptive, meaning they are just there because that is what happened. God never put cosmetics on what happened in Bible times. He just had the writers of the Bible tell it like it was and so we have descriptions of things that are not all too pretty sometimes. But just because it is in the Bible does not mean we are okayed to do them.
you have blessed me with this response. again thank you for your time. i appreciate all that you said here and could have never sai it or even put it together in my mind the way that God has through you. much love and blessings to you.
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