CRETANS ARE ALWAYS LIARS

"ONE OF THEM, a prophet of their own, SAID, “CRETANS ARE ALWAYS LIARS, EVIL BEASTS, LAZY GLUTTONS.”
Titus 1:12 (NKJV)

According to the above Bible passage, some peculiar negative traits are attributed to be of the Cretans (Titus 1:12).
The word says, CRETANS ARE ALWAYS LIARS, EVIL BEASTS, LAZY GLUTTONS (Titus 1:12).
Things mentioned in the passage were not good traits that could be proud of by anyone.
There are many of such negative traits that are peculiar to different tribes or ethnic groups across the globe, world.
If you are a professed believer and you know that a negative trait runs in your lineage, tribe or race, you should not deny it; you should rather identify it and live above it because you are now part of the family of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:12,13).
You have been severed from your negative root or lineage, you are now part of the family of God—you have been grafted to the original vine, the blessed family of God (Romans 11:16,17).

There are some believers who acknowledged the negative traits in their lineages, tribes or ethnics, and they are proud of such negative traits.
If you looked at the Cretans' negative traits:
• They are said to be liars, in other words, any average cretan you meet would be a liar.
• Such would be an evil beast, a mean or despicable person.
• And a lazy glutton, that is, a laid back person who is gluttonous.
The assertion was made by a Cretan prophet, It was not an outsider who said they are what was described in the passage, It was their own—a fellow Cretan—who said it (Titus 1:12).

When some people are confronted with the reality of the negative traits found in their lives, they tend to be angry, wanting to explain it away.
If you are a believer, a sincere Christian, you would need to acknowledge that the traits are there but you should deal with them in your life.
When you strive to live in line with the Word of God, the principles found in the Bible, you would discover that the negative traits would no longer be found manifesting in your life again. There is no experience that can negate the Word of God!

It is when you want to justify sinfulness or negative habits or traits in your life that you would begin to say, that is how you are, or that is how the people are in the family or lineage you came from.
Someone might say; In my tribe we are so and so, we behave or act in this certain way!
If you heard any believer talking like that, you have seen someone who is indulging his or her flesh.
You have seen someone who would not want to take responsibility for their bad behaviour or attitude. Someone who is saying that is how he is, or how they are in their lineage, family or tribe, shows the irresponsibility of the person.
When anyone is talking like that, you have seen someone who would not want to address the issue being confronted with, the way it is.

Apostle Paul in his Epistle to Titus was telling him not to allow or condone such irresponsible talks (Titus 1:10,11).
Apostle Paul said Titus should stop the mouth of idle talkers and the insubordinates, who subvert things. Those who teach the things they ought not, because of dishonest gain (Titus 1:10,11).

• You as a believer cannot be saying because you are a Cretan or of a particular tribe or lineage, lying is part of your tribe or lineage, thus, it is all right to lie, whilst the Bible says you should not lie (Colossians 3:9), that a liar would end in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8).
• You cannot use what is common or peculiar to your people—family, tribe, or nation—to justify any wrong thing or sinful act that is found in your life.

An example:
Would God overlook Solomon's promiscuousness because such was found in his lineage.
• Through the history of Judah; one could see that the progenitor of that lineage was a man who was into casual sex. Through casual sex, Judah the progenitor of that lineage unknowingly committed incest, he slept with her daughter-in-law and had twins through her (Genesis 38:12-30).
• We could see the same casual sex in the life of David in that same lineage of Judah, his affairs with Bathsheba, Uriah's wife, the mother of Solomon (2 Samuel 11:1-27).
• And down the line, this same trait was found in Solomon's life (1 Kings 11:1-3).
Now, the examples mentioned are the ones that we have the records, there would be more of such promiscuous acts in the lineage of Judah which we do not have the records.
Would someone in that lineage be justifying promiscuity by saying, in my lineage, we are like that, we womanize, or we are promiscuous; thus, do not blame me for being promiscuous.

As a believer, any negative trait in your family line should not be found in your life, if there are traces of it, pray and work at it to completely get rid of it in your life.
Peace.