Last time we left off talking about the driving force or desire behind being our sisters keeper. Our desire should arise out of a relationship with Christ and a willingness to aid our sister in becoming spiritually mature in the faith and in her walk with Christ. A genuine relationship with Christ will be evident in personal relationships with others. This does not come easywe must constantly stand in the presence of the Lord.

Titus 2:3-5 says:

3 The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things 4 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

Paul is saying that all spiritually mature women have the responsibility to mentor those women who are less mature. This is not to exalt you above other womenbut for you to give of yourself and share your wisdom and experiences. This scripture gives us 3 focal points: They are:

1. The exhortation to be our sisters keeper
2. The expectation to be our sisters keeper; and
3. The example of being our sisters keeper.

Exhortation to Be our Sisters Keeper

Paul in this passage of his letter to Titus exhorts the older women to be: Reverent in behavior which simply means godly in our conduct, in our dress, our conversation. The term older women or aged women can also be understood as spiritually mature women, those who have been in the faith and have a combination of spiritual maturity and life experiences. The criterion is not limited to age.

Not slanderers (Prov. 10:18, I Tim. 3:11) - always finding fault in others, gossiping, false accusers

Not given to much wine (drunkenness) (Romans 13:13, Eph. 5:18pretty self-explanatory.

Teachers of good thingspass on to other women positivenessnot junk!

Expectation to be our Sisters Keeper

Now, Paul is sayinglook women, not only am I exhorting (or encouraging) you that you need to be a mentor and an examplehere is what you are expected to convey to them as well:

You are expected to admonish and encourage your sisters to love their husbands (which means to esteem or respect them), to love their children (these things protect the sanctity of home and the marriagebut also is required of single mothers), to be chaste (sexually pureI Cor. 6:20, I Cor. 7). Now how are you to do this? In the spirit of love, not as if you, yourself, are too holy to sin or are perfectbut showing love and understanding and identifying clearly the mandates of God. We cannot condone sin, but must confront it lovingly. We must stand on Gods Word and share what He says with love and allow our mistakes and lessons to be lessons for others. Homemakers, goodsubmissive to their husbands (now isnt that another topic for another day! LOL) -Eph. 5:22, I Pet. 3:1,5.

Example of Being our Sisters Keeper

In mentoring and discipling our sister in the things we just mentioned, we, too, are to possess these qualities. Through discipling our sister we are giving her the opportunity to grow and ultimately become involved in the spiritual ministries of the church which puts her in line with discipling others as well. Therefore, we become examples of women who are glorifying God and integrally involved in kingdom building.

Next time, we will talk about what hinders us from being our sisters keeper: wrong decisions, wrong direction and wrong dispositionfocusing on the Book of Ruth.

2005 Candie A. Price