"Do not speak harshly to an older man, but speak to him as a father, to younger men as brothers, to older women as mothers, to younger women as sisters - with absolute purity."
(1 Timothy 5:1-2)
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me!" So we sang as children. And yet, as we grew up, we realized that wasn't exactly true. Words can hurt. Words do hurt. Regularly.
Certain parts of the country seem to place a premium on respectful words - at least initially. "Southern hospitality" raised generations to say, "Yes ma'am, no sir." Here in Hawaii, our children are taught to call any older man "Uncle," and any older woman "Aunty" (whether they're related to us or not!). The military community teaches "Yes, sir!" and "No, ma'am"... and their children are (by and large) very respectful. Respectful speech is underrated.
The apostle Paul must have sensed that, too. He instructs Timothy to speak to everyone with the utmost respect - older men as fathers, older women as mothers, younger men as brothers, and younger women as sisters (of course, that assumes one already speaks with tenderness & respect to their family members!). But Paul adds one caveat on the end of these instructions - "with absolute purity." Maybe this is a remark meant to cover all 4 groups of people previously mentioned... but somehow I think it refers specifically to younger women. Could it be that men back in Timothy's day often said inappropriate things to younger women - especially when they found them attractive (like we do so frequently today!)?
What would it mean for us to speak with "absolute purity" to everyone today (especially to younger women)? Maybe people would come to feel valued & respected for who they were, not for how they looked? That's what God intends. We're all made in God's image... whether we're young & vivacious... or more "mature". Hmmmm... sounds like an easy enough assignment... but can we live it out? By the grace of God... YES!!!
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