Titus 3:2

to speak evil of no man, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing all meekness toward all men.

In this verse and in Titus 3:1, there are listed seven basic requirements of Christian character; and, on first thought, some might classify all of them as "old-fashioned." On the contrary, none of these virtues had ever been heard of, either in Crete or in the whole pagan world. "These things here charged by Paul were new virtues to men. They were held up to admiration by no heathen moralist."[2] Moreover, such virtues were even scorned and made light of by many pagan writers. In a sense, they are still new, because the newest, freshest, cleanest thing on earth is a Christian soul which truly exhibits them; and when such an exhibition appears, no desert flower after a shower ever bloomed with sweeter charm and fragrance than that of such a Christian personality.

Speak evil of no man... We believe Lipscomb was correct in his interpretation that this means, "Do not speak evil or contemptuously of rulers."[3] This surely seems to be the very thing Paul especially meant, but the injunction goes far beyond that. It is wrong to read this as if it said, "Speak evil of no good man." Speaking evil of any man, especially public, prominent or powerful men, invested with honor or office, is not to be indulged by Christians. Why? For us it is enough to know that it is the Lord's will, and yet many reasons are visible. To speak evil in those cases where, in a sense, it would be deserved is merely to multiply the influence of a bad example. Furthermore, dwelling in one's thoughts upon the evil of others intensifies the temptation for the Christian himself to do wrong, thus hindering the positive thrust of his life (see Philippians 4:8).

Not to be contentious, to be gentle... Both of these virtues are listed among the qualifications of elders (1 Timothy 3:3). A neighbor lacking such virtues is a thorn in the flesh, and Christians should not be thorns.

Meekness... "This is the temper which does not make us assert ourselves; it is an unassuming, passive spirit, the opposite of harshness and haughtiness."[4] Meekness must never be thought of as mere weakness, for it is the most awesome strength. Charles Rann Kennedy caught a glimpse of this in the lines, "The meek, the terrible meek, the fierce agonizing meek, are about to enter into their inheritance."[5] Moses was meek, but no more powerful figure ever appeared in history than the Jewish lawgiver.

[2] H. D. M. Spence, Ellicott's Commentary on the Holy Bible, Vol. VIII (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1970), p. 260.

[3] David Lipscomb, New Testament Commentaries, Titus (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, 1976), p. 281.

[4] R. C. H. Lenski, Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistles ... Titus (Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 1964), p. 928.

[5] Charles Rann Kennedy, The Terrible Meek, quoted in John Bartlett, Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1939), p. 817.