Cretin isn’t a word we use much today. We have our own insults, many of which sound much worse to our ears. If you look up the word in the dictionary, you’ll see definitions which point to an intelligence deficit. In my day, we might have called someone a “moron”. Previous generations called such people a “dunce”. And if you go back far enough, cretin was a common insult.
Not to be confused with cretin, is the word Cretan, meaning those who live on the island of Crete. In the NT, Paul writes to Titus, who is a minister on the island. According to Paul, the Cretans of that day are far worse than cretins. They weren’t ignorant or slow-witted. Paul describes them in Titus 1 in the following way:
“Even one of their own men, a prophet from Crete, has said about them, ‘The people of Crete are all liars, cruel animals, and lazy gluttons.’ This is true.” (1:12-13a)
From among such people, Paul gave Titus the task of appointing elders for the churches. His goal was to find men who “live a blameless life”, and who “lives wisely and is just, living a devout and disciplined life”.
Quite the opposite of the description of Cretans. These were the kind of people needed to lead the churches of Crete. These elders would call the people of God to live pure and good lives among people who are “liars, cruel animals and lazy gluttons.” Regarding dealing with such people, Paul gave Titus the following wisdom:
Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good. (Titus 1:15-16)
The people of God in Crete weren’t to go out arguing with those who didn’t follow God. Like most of the teaching of the New Testament, Titus is ultimately concerned about how the church acts towards one another, even in the midst of a world filled with those who are corrupt, detestable, and disobedient.
This is because Paul knows that we can’t argue with the Cretans of this world. Their reality is centered around a different perspective and worldview that isn’t submissive to God. Christians live their lives according to God’s Word. The world lives according to their own selfish whims, described well above.
It’s hard living with Cretans. If you hold to the truth of the Gospel, you will stand out as worthy of spite in the world you live in. They won’t agree with you. They won’t think well of you. They will hate you because of Christ. Paul gave Titus the following advice to pass along to the believers in Crete:
For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. (Titus 2:11-14)
Our ultimate hope is in the future, not in this world. While here, we should live with “wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God.” We are His people, committed to doing good deeds, and our words and actions should reflect that.
Seeing God 