Live As Responsible Persons

 "Let your words strengthen sound doctrine.  Tell the older men to be sober, serious, wise, sound in faith, love and perseverance.

The older women, in like manner, must behave as befits holy women, not given to gossiping or drinking wine, but as good counselors, able to teach younger women to love their husbands and children, to be judicious and chaste, to take care of their households, to be kind, and submissive to their husbands, least our faith be attacked.

Encourage the young men to be self-controlled.  Set them an example by your own way of doing.  Let your teaching be earnest and sincere, and your preaching, beyond reproach.  Then your opponents will feel ashamed and will have nothing to criticize.

Teach slaves to be subject to their masters, and to give satisfaction in every respect, instead of arguing.  They must not steal from them, but be trustworthy.  In this way, they will draw everyone to admire the doctrine of GOD our savior.

For the grace of GOD has appeared, bringing salvation to all, teaching us to reject an irreligious way of life, and worldly greed, and to live in this world as responsible persons, upright and serving GOD, while we await our blessed hope--the glorious manifestation of our great GOD and Savior CHRIST JESUS.  HE gave HIMSELF for us, to redeem us from every evil, and to purify a people HE wanted to be HIS own, and dedicated to what is good." - Titus 2:1-14 

(Here, there is reminder of the duties of the faithful according to their situation in life.  In the society of the time, far simpler than ours, all was reduced to slaves or the free, men or women, young or old.  In our age, it would be necessary to ask people to look more closely at their responsibilities in life.

There is insistence on our duty to bear fruit: the following paragraph will say that if CHRIST has sacrificed HIMSELF for us, such a sacrifice must not remain fruitless.

The grace of GOD has appeared, bringing salvation to all.  Here Paul returns to the essence of the Christian message: it is a gift of GOD and so it must produce the fruit of goodness and reconciliation and draw people away from the self-centeredness which paralyzes them.

HE gave HIMSELF for us.  As in Ephesians 5:25 and 1 Corinthians 11:25, JESUS' sacrifice is primarily to purify those who become HIS people.  In fact, it is by looking at JESUS that, little by little, we let go of what is evil and violent in us.

Teaching us to reject an irreligious way of life.  GOD brings us to purify our motives and our hearts.

- Responsible, because the practice of Christian living brings us to a more serious attitude.

- Just with others by being primarily just with GOD.

- Serving GOD: this means first of all being sincere with GOD.)

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