Thoughts for the Day

Teach Sound Doctrine

But as for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. Tell the older men to be temperate, serious, prudent, and sound in faith, in love, and in endurance.

Likewise, tell the older women to be reverent in behaviour, not to be slanderers or slaves to drink; they are to teach what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be self-controlled, chaste, good managers of the household, kind, being submissive to their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited.

Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, gravity, and sound speech that cannot be censured; then any opponent will be put to shame, having nothing evil to say of us.....

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Everything in our world is about advertising - if you want to purchase something we often look it up online and examine the options. We read the description, try to decide the quality of what we want through the text or pictures and we can be influenced by certain brands or well known names to purchase their goods. In the past we would have relied upon physically seeing an example of what we wanted to buy, and touched the material or tasted the food to decide whether it was what we wanted. Today however things are very different. AI plays a huge part in what we buy and we are learning to make sure the site is reputable and the advert is genuine, asking questions like “Is the price too good to be true?” and “Do the hands on the models look real, or do they have missing fingers?”

In the 1st century CE (Common Era) things were obviously different. For Christianity to be considered a credible faith its followers needed to live the message they preached. Paul doesn't flinch his words and addresses the different men and women in the church. The teaching has barely changed today (though I would want to take exception to submissive wives), and we could take to heart all of the instructions to whomever Paul addressed them.

Ultimately, loving God and loving others means we should, for example, be like the older men "sound in faith", like the older women "reverent in behaviour", like the younger women "kind", and the younger men "self-controlled". Then will the world take the message of Jesus more seriously.

Lord Jesus Christ,
forgive us our failings -
the times we let You down;
when we forget to love others;
when we forget You;
when we are full of self-pity;
and when we want to criticise everyone.
Remind us of our calling as Christians,
and revive our flagging spirits.
Amen.