Leadership Development

Who Is This Titus Woman?

From the time I was a newborn, I was in church—not once, not twice, but three times a week, at least. I attended revivals, church camps, youth group, Sunday School, missions programs, and a myriad other activities and organizations. In spite of it all, if you had asked me to define a Titus woman, I would have drawn a blank. Titus woman? Never heard of her. Who is she and what does she have to do with me? Is she related to the virtuous woman of Proverbs?

The fact is, to my best recollection, no one has ever mentioned the Titus woman to me. Not until I was a grown woman snooping around in a friend's bookcases did the secret come out. And when it did, I got hungry for more.

My friend De is younger than I am, but she was a Titus woman to me. When my family would visit hers in November of each year during deer season, I would look forward to the mentoring I knew she would be giving me. Sounds odd, doesn't it? A younger woman mentoring an older one who had been raised in the church and was considered a fairly mature Christian? Well, the painful truth was that I still had much to learn. De taught me that God has a plan for women, and it may not—in fact, it most often does not—fit in with society's plan. I devoured the books and magazines De had collected, and one particular topic continued to come up—the Titus woman. I had to get to know that lady!

What I discovered fascinated me. In the book of Titus, Paul was writing to the Gentile convert who became a helper to him in his ministry. Titus was left in Crete to work with the church there; and in his letter to Titus, Paul was giving advice on how to teach the various groups in the church. One of these groups is the older women, who in turn, Paul says, are to teach the younger women. In Titus 2:3-5, Paul wrote, "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

The fact that the Bible gives very specific advice to me as a woman is awesome. Times often arise when I wonder what God's will for me is in a specific situation. When things seem confusing and it is difficult to discern His desire for me, I can go to the Scriptures. How should I live my life? According to Titus, I should mentor those women younger than I. I should be instructing them by example and training them with words. I should teach them that the Bible speaks directly about how we live our lives and what our goals should be. It specifically tells us we should behave righteously. We should not gossip or be bound to alcohol. We should love our husbands and children. We should be self-controlled and pure, and be good keepers of our homes. And yes, we are even to submit to our husbands.

Could I ever live that "Titus woman" life? I want to put my head in the sand and pretend those verses are not there. But I already know, so now I am responsible.

Mentoring is not a new concept. It is here in Titus—older women are counseled to teach the younger women. In today's society, however, women have gotten busy—too busy. We console ourselves with the thoughts that we are busy doing the work of God and taking care of our families—we just don't have time to mentor younger women. However, mentoring doesn't necessarily mean taking a day every week to teach another woman the concepts of Titus 2.

Many women have been in my life, sharing tidbits of wisdom with me. But I am concerned that we are not the Titus women we are called to be. Mentoring others has not been a priority for many, or perhaps, we have simply been ignorant of the need. It could be that we have been too busy with ourselves.

Whatever the reason, if I want to honor God with my life, I must obey His Word. His Word is very clear as to how I am to live my life and that I am to disciple other women. Who is the Titus woman? Who indeed? She is not only someone I need to get to know, she is someone I need to become.

Practical Ideas for Living the Titus Woman Life

Practice a consistent quiet time of prayer and Bible study.
Turn worry into prayer.
Be quick to listen and slow to speak.
Choose words that build up rather than tear down.
Pour everything you do through the filter of God's Word.
If in doubt, don't.
Practice self-control in all areas of your life: eating habits, speech, choice of entertainment, clothing, etc.
Make a plan of organization in your home that works for you.
Make a choice to submit to your husband.
Make mentoring a part of your life, whether you are teaching a Bible study group, working individually with women, or simply inviting women into your life as you model God's plan for them.