Another thing Paul instructs Titus to look for is something called “prudent” in the King James translation. The word “sophron” literally means (according to one Greek dictionary): “sound, understanding, discreet, sober, temperate, or of a sound mind. I think it means something like being sensible. This makes for a good testimony in the community. The opposite of being sensible might be something like living in a fantasy world. It’s to ignore reality as it exists, preferring to live in a fictitious life.

I remember Helen Reddy’s song about “Delta Dawn.” The lyrics are something like this: “Delta Dawn, what’s that flower you have on. Could it be a faded rose from days gone by. And did I hear you say he was a-meeting you here today to take you to his mansion in the sky.” That’s the chorus, the first verse goes like this, “She’s forty-one and her daddy still calls her “baby” All the folks around Brownsville say she’s crazy, ‘Cause she walks around town with a suitcase in her hand, looking for a mysterious dark-haired man. “ Delta Dawn is living in a fantasy world. Everyone around her knows that this creep will never come back, but she can’t accept reality and deal with life as it is. It’s non-sense to continually live a fantasy world.

When I was a kid I used to wear a bath towel around my neck and play superman. I would jump off the picnic table and pretend that I could fly. I would run through the neighborhood shouting, “look! Up the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane! No, it’s superman!” My neighbors thought I was a little weird, but I wasn’t the only one. When you’re four years old it’s OK to play superman. When you grow up it’s not a good thing! I’m not superman! I’m a normal guy with some talents and without some other talents. I need to face my limitations and come to grips with my strengths and weaknesses and be what I can be when I can be it. I can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound. I’m not stronger than a locomotive, nor am I faster than a speeding bullet, but I can mow the lawn or wash the dishes when they need to be done.

Chuck
“The end of everything is near. So be sensible and clear-headed …” 1 Peter 4:7