Titus 2 - When do you become an aged woman?

[HomesteadWife]

This is topic which has been on my mind a lot the last week. Now most of us are familiar with Titus 2.

Titus 2: 3-5
3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

My question is, when do you qualify as an aged woman? Is it only a matter of age? Time in a relationship? Years as a mom? Level of biblical understanding?

I know as a newer wife and mother (married 3yrs, mom of an 8 month old) that there are many things I can learn from women who have been in Godly biblical based relationships for longer.

Yet.... I also feel like there is very grey area in the terms. I've been in a committed relationship with my husband for almost 7 years now. Helped to raise my 7 siblings, and have had older godly women ask me for advice on biblical marriage relationships.

I feel like my understanding of biblical marriage and its structure has really been refined through the fire this last year. I now have a belief struture which would never have imagined I could hold. Its similar in some ways to the Faith I was raised in, and even more 'out there' in others, which I never thought possible. Haha

I find it hard finding biblical based older woman role models who I feel fit this Titus 2 description to learn from. I'm seeing more and more clearly how prevalent feminism is ingrained in even those who consider themselves to be conservative biblically based Christians.

Do any of you have similar issues? What is the best way you have found to identify Titus 2 women in your life? Are you that Titus 2 woman to others even of you are younger in age, but have a stronger biblical knowledge?

I'd love to hear some different thoughts on this!

 

[MeganC]

Titus 2: 3-5
3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Nope. I fall short. I'm not always discreet, not always obedient.

But I am definitely getting old!

 

[julieb]

It is a tricky definition for sure! I think a Titus 2 woman is someone who God brings into your life to help you in some way. They might be a little older than you or a lot older, but someone who has experienced something in the past you are walking through or struggling with in your present.

I think a Titus 2 woman can also be someone that is encouraging to you in the way she walks out her faith and/or her skill in keeping her home a blessing to her husband and her children. She might be older, but she might be younger.

 

[NVIII's Babe]

My question is, when do you qualify as an aged woman? Is it only a matter of age? Time in a relationship? Years as a mom? Level of biblical understanding?

Time alone does not create this woman. Age and experience are not the factors that make her suitable to give advice. This counseling is an excellent opportunity for married women whose children are all grown. Maybe she has no children and has experience with being barren and finding ways to be a mother to those around her. How many "empty-nesters" turn to laziness, gossip, being busy-bodies, or throw themselves into solitary hobbies at full speed? Generally, pre-birth control and pre-late marriage, the average woman would likely reach this empty nest point a bit over a decade after she reaches menopause. Some earlier if they had no, or only one or two children. Some later if they reached menopause later.

These women who have diligently submitted to their husbands for decades, raised godly children up and out of their home, are participating in the lives of their grandchildren... they have so much to teach younger women who are in the thick of it.

That's not to say the woman in the thick of it is incapable of giving godly counsel or practical advice to her peers. However, it ought to come with a *huge* dose of humility. I'm not stupid. I can predict that incessantly criticizing everything a 15-year-old son does will give poor results in his life. However, I do not have a 15-year-old son yet. I am not experienced enough to help another mother navigate the nuance and detail in raising a teenage son. Some advice is sound across all of life. Some needs to be tailored to the situation.

Do any of you have similar issues? What is the best way you have found to identify Titus 2 women in your life? Are you that Titus 2 woman to others even of you are younger in age, but have a stronger biblical knowledge?

I don't know what label fits me. But I have given advice to my peers on occasion. I've tempered the advice I give with humility, a recognition and admition that I am a peer and my understanding is subject to growth and maturity and change, that I don't have all the answers.

It feels more like coming alongside a friend and lifting each other up rather than turning back and laying planks for a mentoree. The former says, "I am here too, I think this is the way, lean on me here and I will help you as I also go this way." The latter say, "I have been there, this is the way through, follow me as I lead you."

One caution I keep in mind myself (here I go, offering to come alongside...) is that experience and time usually lend humility. The more we know, the more we realize how little we know. Hence, the teenager who knows everything and the aged woman who is always willing to learn more. This is why giving advice while *in* the experience itself can be surreptitiously dangerous. Our confidence in our choices and methods can cloud our judgment of the nuance and detail. It makes us say, "This is THE way," when it is actually only "the way for me right now." It may not be the way for me later or the way for you right now or the way for anyone, once I have gotten fully through to the other side! An older woman with experience and time is more likely to have gained this humility naturally.

 

[Joleneakamama]

Nope. I fall short. I'm not always discreet, not always obedient.

But I am definitely getting old!

I can relate! Same goes for me!

 

[Brenna]

This is topic which has been on my mind a lot the last week. Now most of us are familiar with Titus 2.

Titus 2: 3-5
3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

My question is, when do you qualify as an aged woman? Is it only a matter of age? Time in a relationship? Years as a mom? Level of biblical understanding?

I know as a newer wife and mother (married 3yrs, mom of an 8 month old) that there are many things I can learn from women who have been in Godly biblical based relationships for longer.

Yet.... I also feel like there is very grey area in the terms. I've been in a committed relationship with my husband for almost 7 years now. Helped to raise my 7 siblings, and have had older godly women ask me for advice on biblical marriage relationships.

I feel like my understanding of biblical marriage and its structure has really been refined through the fire this last year. I now have a belief struture which would never have imagined I could hold. Its similar in some ways to the Faith I was raised in, and even more 'out there' in others, which I never thought possible. Haha

I find it hard finding biblical based older woman role models who I feel fit this Titus 2 description to learn from. I'm seeing more and more clearly how prevalent feminism is ingrained in even those who consider themselves to be conservative biblically based Christians.

Do any of you have similar issues? What is the best way you have found to identify Titus 2 women in your life? Are you that Titus 2 woman to others even of you are younger in age, but have a stronger biblical knowledge?

I'd love to hear some different thoughts on this!

This is topic which has been on my mind a lot the last week. Now most of us are familiar with Titus 2.

Titus 2: 3-5
3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

My question is, when do you qualify as an aged woman? Is it only a matter of age? Time in a relationship? Years as a mom? Level of biblical understanding?

I know as a newer wife and mother (married 3yrs, mom of an 8 month old) that there are many things I can learn from women who have been in Godly biblical based relationships for longer.

Yet.... I also feel like there is very grey area in the terms. I've been in a committed relationship with my husband for almost 7 years now. Helped to raise my 7 siblings, and have had older godly women ask me for advice on biblical marriage relationships.

I feel like my understanding of biblical marriage and its structure has really been refined through the fire this last year. I now have a belief struture which would never have imagined I could hold. Its similar in some ways to the Faith I was raised in, and even more 'out there' in others, which I never thought possible. Haha

I find it hard finding biblical based older woman role models who I feel fit this Titus 2 description to learn from. I'm seeing more and more clearly how prevalent feminism is ingrained in even those who consider themselves to be conservative biblically based Christians.

Do any of you have similar issues? What is the best way you have found to identify Titus 2 women in your life? Are you that Titus 2 woman to others even of you are younger in age, but have a stronger biblical knowledge?

I'd love to hear some different thoughts on this!

This is topic which has been on my mind a lot the last week. Now most of us are familiar with Titus 2.

Titus 2: 3-5
3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

My question is, when do you qualify as an aged woman? Is it only a matter of age? Time in a relationship? Years as a mom? Level of biblical understanding?

I know as a newer wife and mother (married 3yrs, mom of an 8 month old) that there are many things I can learn from women who have been in Godly biblical based relationships for longer.

Yet.... I also feel like there is very grey area in the terms. I've been in a committed relationship with my husband for almost 7 years now. Helped to raise my 7 siblings, and have had older godly women ask me for advice on biblical marriage relationships.

I feel like my understanding of biblical marriage and its structure has really been refined through the fire this last year. I now have a belief struture which would never have imagined I could hold. Its similar in some ways to the Faith I was raised in, and even more 'out there' in others, which I never thought possible. Haha

I find it hard finding biblical based older woman role models who I feel fit this Titus 2 description to learn from. I'm seeing more and more clearly how prevalent feminism is ingrained in even those who consider themselves to be conservative biblically based Christians.

Do any of you have similar issues? What is the best way you have found to identify Titus 2 women in your life? Are you that Titus 2 woman to others even of you are younger in age, but have a stronger biblical knowledge?

I'd love to hear some different thoughts on this!

This has been on my mind for quite some time as well! I have a daughter who is getting ready to turn 31, she calls herself spiritual, she even prays but it is not what I perceive as spiritual! She does not spend time reading the Bible nor is she responding to the audible books that I am giving her about what to expect when she gets married in a biblical way, beginning with being submissive to her husband.. this really has me puzzled as to how to proceed in my attempts to help her know God and all the possibilities for her life.