Respectable Wifely Conduct. Titus 2:4-5.
And so train the young women to love their husbands and children, To be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
Dear Children of the Heavenly Father,
Paul continues with his instructions on the conduct of the different groups. Older women are to take up the responsibility of teaching younger women.
Love (v. 4). That love for a husband and children is to be taught may sound strange. However, when one realizes that love is not how one feels but what one does, training makes sense. Older women have managed husbands and children and know how to serve and bring out the best in each.
Labour (v. 5a). Self-control and purity are set in the context of work because idleness is fertile ground for impure thoughts and the accompanying lack of self-control. The idea of “working at home” is not to the exclusion of work away from home. At the time, wives were confined at home with few opportunities for work elsewhere. Keeping oneself gainfully occupied is more the emphasis here.
Loyalty (v. 5b). Kindness and submission to the husband is an interesting and instructive combination. It is easy for men to put up a facade of strength and courage in the face of insecurity and uncertainty. Submission will often reassure an insecure husband and avert the kind of conflict that would invite outsiders to speak ill (revile) the gospel. As stated elsewhere, submission is not a sign of weakness or inferiority. On the contrary, it is the controlled exercise of power.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.