Day 206, 1 Timothy 5
Chapter 5 continues with guidance on proper conduct and structure in the family of God - the ekklesia, or church.
Treating older men as fathers, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers and younger women as sisters ensures a purity of motive - no pride or ungodly desire.
The church has a role to play in supporting true widows. There were many such women, because persecution was targeting men for execution. In that culture, any woman whose husband had died was in peril because society was structured around the household, and widows who had no children to take them in would become destitute. The church has a responsibility when there are no children to care for their mother. Paul instructs Timothy to distinguish between widows whose husbands have been killed for their stand for Christ who trust God and the church to care for them, and those who seek to provide for themselves by quickly finding a new man to marry. The former have the church and God’s kingdom as their focus and priority, while the latter show their lack of trust in God’s provision by their actions. Some were clearly filling their lives with gossip and going from house to house taking support from the other members of the church while leading them astray.
In contrast, there are elders (literally those with experience of God by virtue of their time spent following Jesus and their experience of faithful endurance for the sake of the kingdom) who deserve financial support and honor for their leadership. These leaders will continue to live out the good news of the kingdom, even if their good works are initially overlooked. In the same way, hidden sin will be seen in the end, which is why Paul warns Timothy not to appoint people to formal positions too quickly.
So the church is to be a place where those who have sacrificially lived to lead and encourage others are supported and honored, while those who have mixed motives or an attitude of entitlement are not.
How can you and I take a further step toward honor today - treating our elders as parents and our peers as beloved siblings?
Have a great day!
Mark.