Is Titus 2:4-5 only for married women?
Some scraps of my thoughts on women's roles.
Let's see... It commands young woman to be 'philandros' and 'philoteknos' - that is "man lovers" and "children lovers" This can be applied to loving father, brothers, and siblings, as well as mothers (who can be the "older women" previously mentioned). Certainly a tender-hearted love for parents and siblings is an adornment to the gospel in a single woman...
When it speaks of subjection to husbands (Gr: 'aner', as opposed to above 'andros', though English translations put "husband" in both cases) it probably applies to marriage. But I think it is foolish for a young woman to skip over the one passage in the entire New Testament which speaks specifically to young women, because she is unmarried and it mentions elements of married life. If I cannot follow this, what else do I follow? What the world tells me to do? If I decide to put this passage in the 'married' box, and look elsewhere for a guide to my single years, I'll miss out big time.
Here's a thought - I'm picturing two garments - one a lovely dress that doesn't quite fit yet (Titus 2 womanhood), and the other a rather mud-stained one-size fits all uniform (what the world does). When a Christian young lady wants to know what to wear into God's kingdom, isn't the lovely garment of Titus 2 womanhood - perhaps a little baggy in some places, but overall beautiful, better than the mud-stained uniform? By the time she grows into it, she will have learned to wear it with ease...
1 comment:
I agree that this passage is not only for married women, but young single women as well. A young single woman can love her husband before she meets him, by cultivating these virtues,in faith, long before she is married. She is loving both her future husband and future children by preparing. It is like getting your house prepared before you have company. No one waits until the company arrives to begin the preparations. Isn't it a gracious gift that single women would be given such a clear teaching to know how to prepare?
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