Titus 2 Men And Women

"Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart." Zechariah 7:9-10 

You have the power, by God’s Spirit within you, to help people rebuild their lives, to give hope to people in despair, to offer others a fresh start when it seems they have nothing left.

God empowers us to: 
Judge with an even-hand - We show compassion when we act as a voice for those who have no voice. Our compassion can help the powerless, the ignored, the forgotten, the defeated, and the falsely accused.
Show mercy - When we show mercy to those in the wrong, it doesn’t mean we’re letting someone "off the hook"; rather, it means we recognize he/she is a flawed human, just like us, in need of salvation. 
Be kind - In the graceless age, we can show kindness, even to those with whom we disagree. We can model civility and respect.
Use your advantages to help - Instead of focusing on getting the advantage, we can use what advantages and privileges we do have to help others. We can willingly put ourselves at a disadvantage in order to serve someone else, such as when Jesus, the leader and the Messiah, washed the feet of his disciples.
Protect others - Our compassion compels us to look out for the interests of others, in particular, those in volatile or vulnerable situations.

God says when we do this, our light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around us will be as bright as day: "And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in." Isaiah 58:11-12 

Here we see the cycle of compassion: God gives compassion to us; we give compassion to others; then we receive compassion from God and others in our time of need. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped. " The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself." Proverbs 11:25 

This is the essence of a Christ-community - living together, serving together, and loving together. 
What does this mean? 

What would biblical compassion look like if you judged with an even hand in your home? At work? In the community?

What can you do to be a voice for those who have no voice?

What would biblical compassion look like if you showed mercy in your home? At work? In the community? What are ways you can express compassion and mercy to those who’ve failed, done things wrong, or simply disappointed you?

What would biblical compassion look like if you exhibited civility and respect, even for those who show little civility or respect for you?

What would biblical compassion look like if you used your advantages and privileges to help those who are disadvantaged or those who have no privileges?

What would biblical compassion look like if you placed the interests of others above your own interests?

Isaiah 58:10-12 "And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in." 
CEV: Isaiah 58:10-12 Give your food to the hungry and care for the homeless. Then your light will shine in the dark; your darkest hour will be like the noonday sun. The LORD will always guide you and provide good things to eat when you are in the desert. He will make you healthy. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water or like a stream that never runs dry. You will rebuild those houses left in ruins for years; you will be known as a builder and repairer of city walls and streets.

***Matthew Henry: Proverbs 11:25 - 
So backward we are to works of charity, and so ready to think that giving undoes us, that we need to have it very much pressed upon us how much it is for our own advantage to do good to others, as before, Proverbs11:17. 1. We shall have the comfort of it in our own bosoms: The liberal soul, the soul of blessing, that prays for the afflicted and provides for them, that scatters blessings with gracious lips and generous hands, that soul shall be made fat with true pleasure and enriched with more grace. 2. We shall have the recompence of it both from God and man: He that waters others with the streams of his bounty shall be also watered himself; God will certainly return it in the dews, in the plentiful showers, of his blessing, which he will pour out, till there be not room enough to receive it, Malachi 3:10. Men that have any sense of gratitude will return it if there be occasion; the merciful shall find mercy and the kind be kindly dealt with. 3. We shall be enabled still to do yet more good: He that waters, even he shall be as rain (so some read it); he shall be recruited as the clouds are which return after the rain, and shall be further useful and acceptable, as the rain to the new-mown grass. he that teaches shall learn (so the Chaldee reads it); he that uses his knowledge in teaching others shall himself be taught of God; to him that has, and uses what he has, more shall be given.

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