The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon.

“Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to slander no one, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing every consideration for all people.”

—Titus 3:1–2

The opposite of this verse would be to live in rebellion, to speak evil of people, to be thoughtless, critical, hard–headed, and rude. It’s easy to do that, but quite difficult to do what the Lord has called us to do.

We won’t do it by accident. Our nature is to do what we want regardless of authority, to speak and act without thinking, and to be demanding and selfish. To obey this verse, we must be intentional—tame our tongues (James 3:1–12), discipline our bodies (1 Corinthians 9:27), and crucify our flesh (Galatians 5:24–26).

We cannot say everything we feel like saying or do everything we feel like doing.

A practical way to live this out is to institute a pause before we speak or act. When we recognize that something negative is happening and the desire to argue or speak evil arises, instead of just reacting, we can use that pause to prompt prayer and as a chance to bless those who curse us and pray for those who are abusive to us (Luke 6:28).

It will often go against our desires in the moment. It will be hard to follow through instead of giving in to our impulses. But in doing so, we’ll demonstrate the same forgiveness Christ extended to us, and we’ll slowly become more and more free from the reactions that once enslaved us.

Every difficult situation, every hurtful person, and every selfish inclination becomes an opportunity to practice what we believe and show others the beauty of God’s grace.

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