“That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,”
And so train the younger women to love their husbands and children — the verb sōphronizō (to train toward wisdom) implies discipleship in conjugal and maternal virtue. Love (philandrous toward husbands, philoteknas toward children) grounds social roles in genuine affection rather than mere duty, preventing these relationships from becoming servile. The training model assumes virtue is learned through mentorship, not innate.
Church Fathers on Titus 2:4
There are some failings which age has, that youth has not. Some indeed it has in common with youth, but in addition it has a slowness, a timidity, a forgetfulness, an insensibility, and an irritability. For this reason he exhorts old men concerning these matters, “to be vigilant.” For there are many things which at this period make men otherwise than vigilant, especially what I mentioned, their general insensibility, and the difficulty of stirring or exciting them. Wherefore…
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