February 7, 2023

The Bible Edge

Everyone needs an Edge, Believers can have the Bible Edge

Titus 3:2

To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

One verse, four commands for interpersonal relationship building and maintenance. Four in one. Today the Bible Edge is a four-legged chair. These combined give safety to all that rest upon them. Check it out.

Speak evil of no man. In the moral sense, evil means: “Having bad qualities of a moral kind; wicked; corrupt; perverse; wrong; as evil thoughts; evil deeds; evil speaking…” (Websters 1828) To intentionally speak wrong of another is speaking evil. To use corrupt communication about another, to speak perversely of them, is to speak evil of them. God’s Word, through the Holy Ghost’s inspiration of Paul, communicates clearly that we should never speak evil of anyone.

To be no brawlers. In today’s vocabulary brawler suggests the idea of a physical fight. The actual meaning is: “1. To quarrel noisily and indecently. 2. To speak loud and indecently. 3. To roar as water; to make a noise.” This is not speaking about a physical altercation, but rather a verbal one. Again, this seems to be a command related to the tongue, same as speak evil of no man is related to the use of the tongue.

But gentle. Being gentlemen, and gentlewomen is a command of God. Mostly those who are such are firstly identified by their speech. They are gentle with their words. In passing remember that one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is gentleness (Galatians 5:22). God’s people are to be gentle as Christ was gentle.

Shewing all meekness unto all men. Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is power under control. In keeping within the context of today’s verse, Titus 3:2, use the power of the tongue properly. According to Numbers 12:3, Moses was very meek, the meekest of all the men on the face of the earth. He had power in his word, but he harnessed it. The one time he failed in this, he lost the privilege of entering the promise land. That is quite a lesson to be reminded of, often.

In real life situations, these four lessons in one verse can be boiled down to three words. Guard your tongue. Jesus spoke about this, James did too, as well as Peter, Paul, and John. Take their advice, within your relationships… guard your tongue. That is an edge, a four in one Bible Edge.

William Howe, Ph.D.