Six Godly Traits of Younger Women

What are godly traits of younger women? Steph shares six godly traits that she has identified over the years.

Six Godly Traits of Younger Woman

Let’s review Titus 2:2-8, the passage we read last time:

“Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 

Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us”

Titus 2:2-8

Traits That Mark an Older Woman

Last time we discussed the traits that are to mark an older woman’s life; among them, the directive to teach young women what is good.

And what is this good teaching?

1. Love Your Husband and Children.

Love your husband  and children. No matter how much we love our spouse and our children, there will always be obstacles.

These days, society stresses the importance of “Me Time.” While caring for our physical and emotional health is important—and does, by extension, benefit the whole family—we must be careful that we don’t become inwardly focused and put our needs and desires ahead of the needs of those closest to us.

Philippians 2:3-4 provide guidelines for all our relationships. We are to ”do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility [we are to] count others more significant than [ourselves]. [We are to] … look not only to [our] own interests, but also to the interests of others” (ESV).

2. Be Self Controlled

Be self-controlled. I think back to those early years of marriage and parenthood. (Dave and I have been married almost 36 years, and our youngest is 28. So, that’s going back quite a way.)

Sadly, I lacked self-control. I had unreasonable expectations of my husband and our children. The anger would bubble up inside and overflow. I yelled—a lot.

I don’t like to think back to those years, but it serves as a good reminder of why it’s important for older women to encourage those who are younger about the importance of self-control.

It also serves as a constant reminder of God’s mercy and grace. Dave’s undying patience and unconditional love, and the wonderful relationships I have with our three grown children, are evidence of how the Lord often blesses us far beyond anything we deserve.

3. Be Pure

Be pure. Purity encompasses so many things.

How do we know what the Lord requires of us?

Let’s look at John 14:15. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (ESV).

Purity can be equated with obedience in thought, word, and deed to the commands and directives in the Scriptures. Only God can give us the desire and ability to walk in obedience. But, as believers, we are to encourage one another to do so.

4. Work at Home

Work at home. Is the condition of our home reflective of our Christian maturity? I sure hope not. I’m fairly certain my home will never appear in a decorating magazine.

And while there are good reasons not to let the accumulation and upkeep of material possessions become our focus, I think this is another example of God looking on the inside rather than the outside, which is our tendency as humans. It’s more about relationships than the condition of our house.

Is our house a home? A place where we can experience peace? A place where family members and friends enjoy time with one another? A place of hospitality? A place where we grow closer to the Lord and to one another?

And yes, there is a definite correlation between the condition of our house and the likelihood that these characteristics will mark our home. But we must be careful not to allow the delegation and completion of chores to strain our relationships and defeat the purpose of working at home.

A quick aside … just because we are instructed to work at home doesn’t mean women who also work outside the home are walking in disobedience the Lord. The Proverbs 31 woman was busy at home, but she was also a businesswoman who worked in her community.

5. Be Kind

Be kind. Sometimes it’s easier to be kind to the cashier at the grocery store, the teller at the bank, even the co-worker who shares our office than it is to be kind to the people who live under our roof.

Back in the day when it was common to take spiritual giftedness tests, I took one such test and ranked high in both prophecy and mercy, which are polar opposites. (In this case, prophecy meant I saw things in black and white. There were no grey areas.)

When my mom learned the results of the test, she asked, “You scored high in mercy?”

Truth be told, others saw me as merciful. However, my family got the full force of my strong opinions, which were often harsh—and wrong.

I’m so glad God continues to refine me.

6. Be Submissive to One’s Husband.

Be submissive to one’s husband. The word submission makes us bristle. While I’m convinced it doesn’t mean being a doormat for the other person, the Lord included this command in His Word for good reason.

To better understand God’s idea of submission, we can study Ephesians 5. Verse 21 says, “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” The passage then goes on to say how we are to submit to one another. Wives are to submit by respecting their husbands and husbands are to submit by loving their wives—as Christ loved the church no less.

Chapter 6 goes on to discuss the relationships between parents and their children as well as slaves and their masters, which we could liken, in many ways, to employers and their employees.

We resist the idea of submission, often because we know someone who is in an abusive relationship, and the command for wives to submit to their husbands has, I believe, been misapplied.

But even when abuse isn’t the case, submitting to another it isn’t natural. We resist setting aside our pride and putting others ahead of ourselves.

Godly submission in marriage is a topic that is too involved to thoroughly examine here, but it is one the Lord will help us understand and implement as we study His Word and submit ourselves, first of all, to Him.

Respecting the Truth of the Bible

Why would we do all these things?

So, the Word of God would not be mocked and hated.

Ultimately, living as the Scriptures teach isn’t simply for our own good or even the good of our spouse and children. It is to point people to the truth of the Bible. As Christians, that’s a calling we should be eager to embrace.

May we seek to live as God desires and set an example for those within our sphere of influence.