Titus 1:7
Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.
The Greek name used for Bishop in this text is ἐπίσκοπος; it is given to the presbyter as superintendent of the church. This is why in this text they used the term ´overseer´ which means someone with the overseeing duties in the church. This person has big responsibilities in managing God´s church hence they should be many expectations required of him more than a mere presbyter. In today´s verse, Paul begins by highlighting qualities that are not expected of the bishop. He starts with the negatives before moving to the positives. He must not be overbearing, quick-tempered, drunkard, violent, and pursuing dishonest gain. The Christian bishop, within a quarter of a century after the death of St. Paul, assumed many of the functions and generally discharged the duties of government that were exercised by the Apostles during their lifetime. The bishop was expected to be humble rather than arrogant. It follows that a humble person would not be easily angered and this is an important quality especially when overseeing a church with people of diverse backgrounds and different expectations. Drunkenness was not allowed by bishops because those who become drunk are either demonstrating poor judgment, dependence on something other than Christ, or a pleasure-seeking lifestyle. All of these are incompatible with a Christian elder.
Takeaways for today;
- The higher someone climbs the leadership, the most is expected of him/her in terms of personal qualities.
- A leader ought to be humble and self-disciplined
- Christian leadership and drunkenness are incompatible.
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