Titus 1:1-3
Want some professional advice? Never be the person that shows up late to a morning meeting with a fresh cup of Starbucks coffee. I used to have a co-worker who would roll into our meetings over twenty minutes late, breathing heavily as if they had to run to the building. When pressed on his tardiness, he simply responded that he hit traffic. Here are a few pieces of context. One, we all make the same commute and never run into traffic besides the occasional tractor backup. Two, we all know that you certainly had to wait at least 10-15 minutes for that grande iced caramel macchiato. Bluntly, he was lying. Even if there was a random traffic jam, he was only telling a half-truth due to the incriminating evidence in his left hand.
People like to lie. According to a psychologist named Robert Feldman, the average conversation between two strangers contains at least three lies… per person. These can range from small statements of fiction like “I like your shirt” when you actually hate the color purple all the way to flat-out fabrications like “I loved it in Toronto” when you’ve never been to Canada.
Isn’t it sort of weird that Paul opens this book by saying that “God does not lie” (1:2)? Since God is perfectly holy, He actually cannot lie. It seems obvious, so why would he even feel the need to make that distinction?
When we are studying the short book of Titus, we are reading a personal exchange between the Apostle Paul and his friend Titus. These two traveled together during some of Paul’s first missionary journeys, and now Paul is mentoring Titus as Titus starts a new ministry. This young pastor was planting a church in Crete, a thriving city in Ancient Greece. Strangely, Greek culture loved liars. In classic mythology, most of the gods are tricksters and con artists. It’s very similar to the Norse mythical characters like Loki who we enjoy from the Marvel cinematic universe. From Hermes to Eris to Dionysus, all of these revered deities built their foundation on fabrication and dishonesty.
It’s easy to place our devotion in things that may deceive us. People break your trust. Jobs lay people off. Popularity can change in an instant. Paul is reassuring Titus that God is trustworthy, reliable, and honest. We can use that reminder at times, too.
Sometimes life doesn’t look anything like we imagined. We know that God has promised good things for us, but we don’t see them yet. We still need to trust. God’s promises were laid out “before the beginning of time” (1:2).
Since God can’t lie, He is worthy of all our trust and devotion. We can trust that His plans for us are perfect because He is perfect. Everything God says is truth. Thus, we can fully trust Him.
Reflection: What Biblical truth do you need to proclaim over your life today?