May 23, 2023 | Be On Mission
Caring for the Widows among Us
Scripture: 1 Timothy 5(NIV)
1 Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
3 Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. 5 The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 6 But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. 7 Give the people these instructions, so that no one may be open to blame. 8 Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
9 No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, 10 and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
11 As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. 12 Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. 13 Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to. 14 So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. 15 Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.
16 If any woman who is a believer has widows in her care, she should continue to help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.
17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” 19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning. 21 I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
23 Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
24 The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. 25 In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.
Devotional
As we get deeper into Paul’s letter to Timothy, we see him moving from addressing cultural concerns to church concerns to pastoral concerns. Here, Paul focused on the pastoral care that Timothy should provide for various subgroups in his church. In particular, most of the chapter is dedicated to the care of widows.
Psalm 68:5 says that God is a defender of widows. In Jewish culture in Biblical times, most women were not educated and did not have paying jobs. If a husband died, the widow was dependent upon others so that she wouldn’t have to become a beggar or prostitute to survive.
In the first years of the Christian movement, the church struggled to figure out how to distribute food to all the widows, regardless of ethnic background (see Acts 6:1-4). Elsewhere, the brother of Jesus wrote, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). Caring for widows was a vital part of the early Christian church.
Things were no different in the city of Ephesus, where Timothy was a pastor. Paul’s advice was to encourage the widows who had family to expect them to take care of their loved one, and to encourage the young widows to get married and let their husbands provide for them. Those widows with real needs should be helped by the church.
Much of today’s reading seems other worldly to our culture in which females are valedictorians, school superintendents, pastors, business leaders, vice presidents, and presidents (just give it time!). And today’s widows have access to jobs, insurance, pensions, social security, and other programs. But none of that was true for first century Jewish women, even if they embraced Jesus as Messiah.
Still, there are people among us who have real needs. Some need food. Some need financial assistance. Some need physical support. Some need a friend who will listen. Some need help. Some need hope. Some need spiritual encouragement.
Who is someone you know who is falling through the cracks? What can you do to reach out to them?
Poem
Code Of Honor
On my honor
I will humble myself
Before those of graying hair
Those in despair
Providing for the needy
On my honor
I will guard my words
Compassion, comfort giving
Truth told in love
Pearls from above
To soothe the broken spirit
On my honor
I will live a life
Full worthy of the Gospel
Pure, chaste and kind
A transformed mind
Obed’ent to the Scriptures
On my honor
I will pray
Contin’ous, without ceasing
Sins I’ll confess
And intercess
With praise, faith and thanksgiving
With your honor
Hold me, Lord
Unto this vow I’m taking
Each day arise
To win the prize
To cast my crowns before You
