I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Titus and Philemon

In his letter to Titus, Paul reiterates the instructions concerning the qualifications for Church leadership which he wrote to Timothy.  We spend a lot of time discussing what these instructions mean for who we should select as pastors and leaders.  However, I do not think we spend enough time talking about Paul writing that a candidate for Church leadership should enjoy having guests in his home.  I don’t want to spend any time talking about what that means, I think that is obvious.  I just want us to bring focus to that requirement from Paul’s list.  I especially want us to think about it in light of the fact that I have always felt that all believers should strive to meet the qualifications needed to be selected for Church leadership, not that they should strive to be Church leaders necessarily, just to qualify to be Church leaders.

I am not going to write anything explicitly about Philemon today, but I think that Paul’s letter to Philemon contains reference to the theme he mentions at the end of his letter to Titus.  Paul wrote to Titus that to the pure, everything is pure, but to the corrupt nothing is pure.  I do not remember the exact situation, but I remember an instance where my Dad made me aware that a person I trusted was dishonest and not worthy of trust.  My Dad pointed out how the person always saw the worst in others, was always sure that others were lying to them and trying to cheat them.  As best I remember, my Dad had done business with this person and I asked him why he would have done that if he did not trust him.  He told me that we should always give people the benefit of the doubt.  This passage from Titus was one of two he referenced when discussing such things.  The other was Matthew 10:16, where Jesus told his disciples to be as shrewd as snakes, but as innocent as doves.