Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

Titus 2:7-8

Paul wrote his letter to the Pastor of the local church on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. In the second chapter, he challenged the young leader to be a role model, not only to the people he pastored but even to his opponents.

Consider the list of words Paul used to describe the kind of man Titus was to be –

• Teaching the church with Integrity
• Being a man of integrity and worthy of the honor and respect of others.
• Speaking in such a way that can’t be condemned or taken out of context.
• Living in such a way that no one can make a claim against his character.

Paul knew that people in the church and the community were watching the life of Titus. Some were looking to learn, others to condemn, but by doing good he was able to be held in honor and also bring honor to God.

Consider these words from A.W. Tozer –

“It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular; it is why he does it. The motive is everything. Let a man sanctify the Lord God in his heart and he can thereafter do no common act.”

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine