In order to properly understand what God requires of us, we must first understand the words that make up the Bible. One passage that possibly has been misunderstood is Titus 2:15. In this passage, Paul gives an important command, the meaning of which has probably been overlooked by some. The command under consideration is, "Let no man despise you."

     On the surface, one might think this is an instruction similar to the one given to Timothy, "Let no man despise your youth" (I Timothy 4:12). But such is not the case. In I Timothy 4:12, the word "despise" (  çà    î ç  - katathroneito) literally means "to think down upon."

    Paul was instructing the young evangelist, Timothy, to live in such a manner that none could look down upon him or think badly about him.  But in Titus 2:15, the word "despise" (ãî  í   î ç  -
periphroneito) means something entirely different. In this passage, the word "despise" literally means "to think around." Paul, in this passage, was instructing Titus to teach in such a manner that none could "out think him," or "think circles around him." That is quite a difference in the two passages that we may have never before noticed.

     Now that we possibly understand the command found in Titus 2:15 in a different light, how do we go about making sure that nobody "despises" us, or out thinks us? The only thing we can do is to get serious about Bible study. There are a myriad of false doctrines and philosophies that are attacking the church today. Therefore, we need to be equipping ourselves that we may "war the good warfare" (I Timothy 1:18). We need to become so familiar with the Scriptures that we are able to convince people of the validity of Christianity. We need to become so familiar with the Scriptures that we can present compelling reasons why one should want to walk closer to the Lord.

    The best thing that Timothy, Titus, or any of us could do to command respect from unbelievers is to do the kind of thinking that will deserve it.

    As we commit ourselves to the task of spreading and defending the gospel of Christ, may the conclusions we reach be the result of logical and valid reasoning that cannot be refuted.