Great Commission Churches

May 2010 

Dear Sisters,

Before Jesus came to earth, women were often chattels, merely property, treated with indignity. Christ and Christianity brought social change, freeing women from literal slavery. But more importantly, Jesus Christ came to set women free from the bondage of sin.

This month Terry Putthoff examines the quality in Titus 2:3 of "...not addicted to much wine." Her words inspire me to freshly examine my own life and habits to see if there is anything that is master over me-anything but the Lord Jesus. I ask myself, "Is my life different from the world? Will others seek to believe Christ because of His truth and power being lived out in my self-controlled example?"

May God work through each of us to exhibit the fruit of self-control, as testimony of the liberating power of the gospel!

In His grace,

Sandy Hopler

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Self Control

by Terry Putthoff, Lee's Summit, MO

"Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good..." (Titus 2:3).

I have pondered this section ever since I agreed to comment on it. I'm a "list-type-of-a-person" and get quite a bit of satisfaction in checking off my list when particular tasks are done or if certain qualifications are met. When I read this verse, my simple way of thinking is: "CHECK! Got that one down. Let's see what's next."

The literal translation of this verse is the same in Greek as it is in English. Other translations say:

• "not given to much wine" (KJV)
• "slaves to drink" (RSV) 
• "must not be heavy drinkers" (NLT)
• "addicted to much wine" (NIV)

What's insinuated here is not a command to abstain from drinking wine, but rather that one not "linger long over wine" to the point that it masters you and you become a drunkard (Proverbs 23:30).

I looked this verse up in the Greek Lexicon and found a few treasures that shed some light on the subject. First of all, the only negative instruction for older women in these verses is to "not" be malicious gossips and "not" be drinkers of too much wine. They are connected by the same word and the same part of speech. Some translations use the word "nor" in place of "not."

In the Greek, the word "nor" is used here as a negative disjunctive conjunction (meaning it has the same verb in common). It implies "God forbid" and the focus is to deny even "the thought of the thing." Therefore, we could say that these two "not(s)" have the verb "enslaved" in common.

So, we older women are not (God forbid) to be enslaved or addicted to malicious gossip or wine. I just never thought of gossip being an addiction in the same sense as alcohol. I've heard of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous), but not MGA (Malicious Gossips Anonymous)! And on top of that, I don't personally know of any pastor's wife that is "enslaved to much wine." But I do know of other things in life that have the potential to master us.

So that makes me think about things in our culture that we might also be tempted to be enslaved by, and just so that no one can think more highly of me than they ought, I will state some of the things that try to master me.

Starbucks. Nothing like it on a cold day! I could sit and "linger long" over a white chocolate mocha, especially with a good friend and an open Bible. Don't get me wrong here, there's nothing wrong with that. It's whether it causes me to drive out of my way to HAVE to have my mocha for the umpteenth time of the day.

Eating. For me, it's more WHAT I eat. You see, I have a blood sugar problem and I am in a pre-diabetic state. My doctor has instructed me to keep my carb count to 150 mgs a day and to focus on lean protein, lots of fiber, and 80 ounces of water. All those high-glycemic foods are what I crave. My conscience reminds me: "To him who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin."

Reality TV. Who will be the next American Idol? Even the title should raise the hairs on the back of our necks. How about TV series like "24?" There are times that we have worked our schedule around it to make sure that we don't miss the next episode. What will happen to Jack Bauer? Or the United States, for that matter?

Fox News. The political environment is so unbelievable that it can be fixating. We don't have cable TV (thank goodness), but whenever we go to our folk's house, I get my fix of Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. I find it gratifying to hear news that exposes the dark things going on in our government and to just be "in the know." (Hmmm, I wonder if that is connected to the addiction of malicious gossip?) Now, don't misunderstand me, I'm not promoting ignorance of the political realm. Just don't let it control you and your thoughts.

Physical appearance. Every time I go to the grocery store, I'm reminded that I am not like the beauty on the magazine cover. Sadly, most women are enslaved to an image that is unattainable, since the majority of magazine covers are computer manipulated. These false images have driven us to strict diets, harsh physical regimens, and expensive beauty treatments. God's Word tells us: "Your adornment must not be merely external ... but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God" (I Peter 3:3-4). That's what is precious in the sight of God! We need to be good stewards of our body, but only in the context that "bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come" (I Timothy 4:8).

Keeping up with appearances. I still can't believe that the "June Cleaver model" isn't the way everyone else operates. Somehow I feel like I'm the only one who hasn't discovered the key to looking good, having the perfect family, keeping the cleanest house, saving the most money, being energetic for my husband and kids, and always having the greatest attitude. My daughter participated in a Mother's Day celebration at our church when she was very little. The stage was set for an Art Linkletter-type "Kids Say the Darndest Things" show. She was asked: What is your mother's favorite hobby? I just knew she would say something like having tea parties with my little girl, or something cute like that. Instead she proudly announced, "Cleaning house!" At that moment, I knew it was time to refocus what was important in life.

Productivity. We live in a culture that drives us to multi-task in such a way that the goal is to be overachievers. I have to admit there is a "rush" when it does happen, but typically I find myself irritable because we run such a tight schedule with very little margin. Sometimes my quiet times are on the run. Have you ever tried to pray when you are intentionally breaking the law? Nothing will bring the cruise control down better than being reminded that I'm praying to a holy God who has set authorities in place to enforce the law.

Facebook. Need I say more?

All these things are not necessarily wrong in and of themselves, just like drinking wine is not wrong, nor is it prohibited in the Bible. Being "enslaved," however, or controlled by anything other than the Holy Spirit is where our problem lies. "Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone (or thing) put a harness of slavery on you" (Galatians 5:1, The Message).

"Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of Him" (Ephesians 5:18, The Message). I know that each one of us would rather be spilling over in excess of the fruit of the Spirit than anything else in life. And as we daily bring our "vessels" to God, He is thrilled to replenish us and fill us up to overflowing! "Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20, RSV).

Terry Putthoff

If you would like to respond to Terry, email info@gccweb.org.