Titus 2:2 (b) — Clear Minded

Teach the older men to be … temperate …

Summary: God made wine. Then he told man to be careful using it. Paul says this is especially important for an overseer. 

What was God thinking when he made alcohol? Is wine a good thing or a bad thing? Paul says that older men should be taught to be temperate. The word “temperate,” is translated from the Greek word, nēphalios. This word is also translated as “sober” or “clear-minded.” Is Paul saying that an overseer should not drink wine? 

One school of thought on this is that overseers or leaders, in general, should not touch any wine. This is not a bad approach. It avoids the question, “How much is too much?” 

When we are talking about wine, this question is important. Alcohol can shut down the part of the brain that exercises good judgment. The first thing to go is the ability to know how much wine is enough. After that, there are a series of stages where a person’s judgment becomes ever more impaired. But temperate does not mean to abstain. 

So what does Paul mean? 

Some translations use phrases like “be watchful” or “be self-controlled.” If we put all these definitions together we might come up with something like this: 

Teach the older men to be self-controlled, meaning they must be watchful of how they use wine so that they are temperate in its use. They should at all times remain sober and clear-minded.

This is not about impressing others. If something can be misconstrued it will be. Jesus laments the hypocrisy of man when he says, “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” (Matthew 11: 18-19)

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul expands on this topic. He is talking about food offered to idols, but the principle he offers applies to wine as well. 

“Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.” (1 Corinthians 8: 9-13)

In light of this instruction from Paul, it makes sense to abstain. That said, whether one abstains or drinks in moderation, Paul insists that the one responsible for holding firmly to the trustworthy message (Titus 1:9) be self-controlled and clear-minded at all times. 

Application: Strive for the same level of self-control that is required for an overseer. 

Food for Thought: How does even a little intemperance affect a person’s testimony for Jesus?