Gentle and Kind
So we're reading Titus 1, where Paul is explaining to Titus what type of people he wants to be in charge of the early church.
Let me remind you what we said yesterday: that these qualities are not just for church leaders, but for all Christians. Because in a sense, we're all church leaders where God has called us to work and to serve.
Godly Character Matters
In verse 7 Paul says that “an overseer must be blameless, not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable.”
Now those are some good qualities for us all to aim towards. I want to look at a few of them here.
Firstly, Paul said we mustn't be quick-tempered. I wonder how that strikes you this morning. Maybe it irritates you. Maybe in today's fast-paced world it's easy to be quick-tempered rather than patient and kind and gentle with people.
Paul says we mustn't be violent. That's pretty much a given in our culture today. Violence is very much frowned upon, of course. But remember, Jesus even holds us to a higher standard, and He said if you call somebody an idiot, you've essentially murdered them in your heart. So don't be too quick to jump over that phrase that you mustn't be violent, because God is looking deeper than just your actions here.
Check Your Temper
How are you doing in terms of your anger? Are you quick-tempered and violent, or are you at peace, gentle with people?
Remember in verse 8 Paul said instead of being like this, rather he must be hospitable. He must be kind to people and not nasty towards them.
I saw a picture on Facebook last year which I remember sharing that said this: You cannot be in leadership and be nasty to folks and expect to be respected because of your title. That really struck me. The type of leadership that God expects of us is not overbearing, nasty, hot-headed, angry sort of leadership, but it is a servant leadership of kindness and strength. Of course we need to be able to confront people and all that type of thing, but with a God-given gentleness, not a quick-tempered heart.
Living with Gentleness
So perhaps this is an opportunity for you and I just to look inside and see if we are being quick-tempered instead of gentle and kind to people.
Think about how you treat the nobodies—the tellers at the shop, the waiters, the car guards, and so on - are you quick-tempered with them or are you kind and reaching out to them in love?
Think about the people who work with you and who work under you. Are you gentle and kind to them, or are you quick-tempered and violent in your heart towards them?
I pray that you and I will submit to God every day of our lives, and especially if we struggle with this type of thing. Submit this to Him and say, "Lord, help me today to be gentle. Help me to not be quick-tempered. Help me to be so full of Your Holy Spirit that when tensions arise, I have the ability to pause, pray, treat people the way You'd have me treat them."
What a world it would be if the Church had no more quick-tempered tendencies, but if we were always patient and kind to people. May it be that you and I as Christians live to this ideal today.
