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"What a bunch of Cretans!"
Ah, yes. Ms. Gutenstein. I hadn't thought of my fourth grade teacher for years. She was a short, stout, angry woman with little tolerance for, well, anything or anybody. But especially for young children. Which, as an elementary school teacher, put her at a distinct disadvantage. She thought we were boorish and unsophisticated. Cretans.
And, she was probably right. But, come on, we were fourth graders.
The word Cretan actually dates back at least to the first century and to the Mediterranean Isle of Crete. The Apostle Paul acknowledged the Cretans' reputation. "One of their own prophets said it best," wrote Paul, "'The Cretans are liars from the womb, barking dogs, lazy bellies.' He certainly spoke the truth" (Titus 1:12, The Message).
Paul shared his impression of the Cretans in a letter to his young companion Titus, after leaving him--("Gee, thanks, Paul!")--to work with the young, unformed churches of the infamous isle.
"Clean up on Isle Crete, please."
Paul counseled Titus to adopt two practices when laboring among the people of Crete: one, preach sound, or healthy, doctrine and, two, encourage Jesus' followers to "adorn the doctrine"--or, as another translation reads, "make the teaching of Christ beautiful"--by doing deeds of kindness.
To underscore the preeminent theme of the letter--and in one of the great understatements of scripture--Paul described the redemptive work of Jesus as "the kindness of God." Beautifully, he closed the letter by admonishing followers of Jesus "to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs..."
Then, as now, it took a transformed character--a character reflecting the kindness of God--before a Cretan could sense the beauty in Jesus' teaching.
Take ten minutes to read Paul's very brief letter to Titus. Use one color to highlight the several times "sound," or "healthy," doctrine appears; use another color to highlight the frequent reference to "deeds" or "kindness."
How might you employ kindness to influence, ahem, "liars from the womb, barking dogs, lazy bellies"? Consider Paul's counsel to the Romans, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).
What can you do to make deeds of kindness a habit?
Here's one for the theologians...Faith in healthy teaching and good deeds that incarnate healthy teaching were never intended to be at odds with each other. Using only language/themes from Paul's letter to Titus, describe how faith and deeds are incomplete, the one without the other.
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