1 Timothy, Chapter 5
Honoring Widows and Elders
Continuing the trend that has been pretty much every chapter of 1 Timothy, Chapter 5 has some more life lessons that can be directly applied to our modern times, especially when looking at the conduct of the modern church. We have a brief introduction so some of the themes of the chapter (which I’ll cover separately) and then the two predominant points of the rest of the chapter.
1 Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, and to the younger men as brothers, 2 to the older women as mothers, and to the younger women as sisters, in all purity.
I thought this opening was important on its own, because of the particular wording and the message it directly instructs on. It gets back to the constant theme of the letter that we are all, as part of the church, like one big family. And notice this doesn’t say not to rebuke one another (which could be misconstrued similar to the way “judge not lest ye be judged is), but rather it instructs on how to go about such a thing. Making an appeal to the one you are confronting; either like a father or brother, or a mother or sister. How often does this get lost, definitely not explicitly within the church but perhaps often most egregiously within the church, when there are things that come up and someone who may be in the wrong (whether by intent or not) has to be confronted? We are to appeal to one another, charitably and familial, with love and concern. Not with a sharp tongue and an ax to grind. This should most certainly be applied outside of the church as well. How much more pleasant would daily discourse be if we applied this to every situation?
3 Honor widows who are actually widows; 4 but if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to show proper respect for their own family and to give back compensation to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God. 5 Now she who is actually a widow and has been left alone has set her hope on God, and she continues in requests and prayers night and day. 6 But she who indulges herself in luxury is dead, even while she lives. 7 Give these instructions as well, so that they may be above reproach. 8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
This whole section on widows is very interesting, in my opinion. There are some Biblical studies that, when looking at other both Old Testament Jewish references and other mentions of widows in Paul’s letters, connect these statements not exclusively to the church’s handling and treatment of widows, but also to single mothers, divorcees, and those who find themselves in desperate need for a multitude of reasons; being linked to the Greek word for “widow,” which does not specifically mean a woman whose husband died but means “suffered loss” or “left alone,” which could be applied to death, desertion, divorce, imprisonment, and a number of other reasons in those times where a husband may not return outside of merely death.1 This also gives steps for how and where the care for the widow should come from. And it starts with the family. How often in modern society do we see children and grandchildren turn away from their family elders in need, because they don’t have the time or don’t want to deal with that extra burden? As Christians it is our duty to step up and care for those in our families in the times of need just as they cared for us when we couldn’t care for ourselves. Jesus even commanded this in Matthew 5: 3-6. But as the church that doesn’t mean we just throw those in need to their families for help and leave it at that. Sometimes that’s not practical or possible. And we are called to care for those in need…but we are also supposed to be discerning in the giving of that care. Those “indulging in luxury” receive a pretty sharp rebuke from Paul here, even after he encourages against sharply rebuking in the opening. And I’ll leave that at that, because I try my best to remain apolitical with these writings and I would rather not open up the can of worms that could come from that passage in the wake of the recently ended government shutdown and what we saw over the last couple of weeks of that with those “in need” losing their SNAP benefits and the surge of social media posts showing the extent of “need” some of those people were in, as opposed to the obvious luxury they were living in while taking advantage of that “need.”
9 A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, 10 having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has assisted those in distress, and if she has devoted herself to every good work. 11 But refuse to register younger widows, for when they feel physical desires alienating them from Christ, they want to get married, 12 thereby incurring condemnation, because they have ignored their previous pledge. 13 At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also they become gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention. 14 Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, have children, manage their households, and give the enemy no opportunity for reproach; 15 for some have already turned away to follow Satan. 16 If any woman who is a believer has dependent widows, she must assist them and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are actually widows.
This section calls back to Chapter 2, where Paul is explaining how the women of the church should conduct themselves. Without nitpicking specifics of what he says here, this is a continuation of how the women of the church should conduct themselves and how the church should handle women who find themselves widowed for whatever the reason at different stages in life. Behave like upstanding, Godly women of the community. Don’t be idle gossips and busybodies. Manage the household and assist other widows. The church should be focused on those most in need…not be “burdened” by those who can and should be caring for themselves. That sounds kinda harsh, but it also goes back to the verse about “indulging in luxury” and the need for the church to be discerning with those being cared for. It was just as true in Paul’s time as it is now that there are people who, if given the opportunity to take advantage of a situation to benefit themselves without having to put forth any effort for themselves, they will choke the life out of that life line. But again, I’m trying to not get political with this! Boy does it get tough with some of these sections though…
17 The elders who lead well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while it is threshing,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” 19 Do not accept an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. 20 Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. 21 I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. 22 Do not lay hands upon anyone too quickly and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin. 23 Do not go on drinking only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. 24 The sins of some people are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after. 25 Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.
We’ve discussed Paul’s addressing of elders with the church at Ephesus before (in Chapter 3), and you’ll remember he is referring to the overseers or pastoral leaders of the church, not necessarily just older members of the church. But where in Chapter 3 he talked about how these church leaders should be selected and how they should conduct themselves, here in Chapter 5 he is giving instructions to the church on how they should treat and honor those elders. They should be given a station of honor (which the word Paul uses means “to support” and “show respect”) and should be rewarded for their good work. We are also to give them the benefit of the doubt, to some extend. Accusations against church elders should come with a degree of proof and investigation.
The next parts of this section are not meant as directly applied to elders exclusively, but this whole part gets sort of lumped in together. I wish I could read Greek and look at the original text…I feel like this segue is clunky in English and would make more sense in the original text, but I digress. How do we handle unapologetic and unchanging sin within the church? Yes, we love the sinner. We hear that all the time in this modern, “Buddy Jesus” “christianity” that has taken hold of much of society. But we also have to actually address the sin! And sometimes that means we also have to address the sinner! At which point they are to be rebuked publicly, for all of the church to see, to show that sin is serious and should be addressed seriously. Jesus laid this out in Matthew Chapter 18, and Paul reinforces here, that sin within the church must be confronted, and if it continues the person must be expelled. But Paul also tempers this with a call to do so without bias or partiality. We are to be sober judges of the situation and the person (people) involved. We don’t jump to conclusions without all of the facts of the matter; don’t lay hands on someone without having all of the evidence and make a sinner of yourself through a lack of faith and respect for your fellow Christian. Obviously, as in Matthew, there are steps to be taken and a right way to address sin within the church. But addressing it is something we are called to do. Not just leave it alone because “oh what are they hurting?” Good deeds will be evident. They will know us by our love and our works. The same is true of sinful actions. They may be immediately evident or they may follow later, but ultimately, as Paul says, they “cannot be concealed.” We have been called, as the church, to be a pillar in our communities throughout this letter. We cannot do that and be that if we are allowing sin to actively work within our own walls. God will have the final judgement, but that does not mean we are not to hold each other to His standards while we are here on Earth.
Next week we’ll wrap up 1 Timothy and also get to the often misquoted verse about money being the root of all evil. I’m looking forward to the next chapter and I hope if you’ve been reading along with these you’ve been getting something out of the breakdowns. Thank you for subscribing and reading, and I’ll be back next week!
