Titus 2:15 (c) — Superpower

Do not let anyone despise you.

Summary: The word “despise” sounds like an emotional response. Yet it can also be an expression of disrespect. Paul’s instruction on this matter requires some thought and perspective. 

Imagine going for a job interview. The last three positions you applied for went to someone else. It seemed like the people doing the interview despised you. But now, you have this new superpower! You walk into the interview confident because you can control whether people despise you or not. 

Of course, that sounds bizarre. Who can control other people’s feelings? Even God does not force people to like him. Maybe Paul means something else? 

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all include a story about Jesus sending his disciples out to share the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God. Each story includes a reference to shaking the dust off of the sandals similar to this reference from Mark: 

“These were his [Jesus’] instructions: ‘Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’” (Mark 6: 8-11)

In ancient times, when everyone wore sandals, there was a great deal of symbolism associated with footwear. If a man would not marry his dead brother’s wife as required, the widow of his brother would take his sandal and spit in his face. Then the offender’s entire family acquired the title of “The Family of the Unsandaled.” (Deuteronomy 25:7-10)

In the story of Ruth, we learn about sandals and their role in property transfers. Ruth 4:7 reads, “Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.”

So shaking the dust off your feet meant something in those days. Today people might think you were just polishing up your dance moves! Yet in those days, it was a testimony against a person or even a whole town. 

Could this be what Paul was thinking of when he wrote, “Do not let anyone despise you”? 

Later in his letter to Titus, Paul talks about divisive people and how to deal with them. He ends his advice with this instruction if they do not repent: have nothing to do with them. (Titus 3:10) Paul repeats this instruction in his letter to the Romans (Romans 16: 17-19) and his second letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:1-9). 

The message seems clear. Assuming you are right with God and have been living according to Scripture, “do not let anyone despise you” sounds like a call to avoid those who cause trouble. 

Application: Like my mother used to say, “If someone is bothering you, ignore them and eventually they will go away.” (Of course I was seven years old at the time.)

Food for Thought: If you could have a biblical superpower, what would it be and why?