1 Timothy 5:1-8 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is 1 Timothy 5:1-8. Let’s go!
1 Timothy 5:1-2 (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.
On verses 1-2: Paul tells Timothy to treat the people in his congregation like family. These verses remind us that since as Christians we are one family in Christ, we are to treat each other like family as well.
Also, Paul tells Timothy to treat the women in his church with absolute purity. Similarly, men in the church, be careful to treat your sisters in Christ with absolute purity, not lusting after them or leading them on, but serving them, protecting them and reflecting Christ to them.
1 Timothy 5:3-8 (NIV)
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, too, so that no one may be open to blame.
8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
On verses 3-8: Here Paul gives Timothy some guidelines for taking care of widows in his church. Back in Paul and Timothy’s time, widows were especially vulnerable. Having lost her main emotional, financial and social support structure when her husband died, the typical widow was faced with the huge challenge of taking care of herself and her family. As a result, some widows would put their hope in God (v5), while other widows medicated their pain by looking for whatever pleasure they could find (v6). Some widows possibly were taking advantage of the church’s kindness, freeloading off the church when they already had other family to take care of them.
Paul tells Timothy to see that the church takes proper care of widows in their congregation, especially those who do not have any family (v3). Those widows who have Christian relatives should be taken care of by their Christian relatives (v4, 8).
What can we learn from this?
1. Have a heart for the poor, the marginalized, and those who are particularly defenseless and vulnerable. God cares for them, and the church should have a heart for them as well.
2. While the church is often known for giving many things for free, don’t abuse that grace or take that grace for granted. Have a sense of responsibility toward your church and be a good steward of your church’s resources. Be careful not to waste what the church has been given.
3. A running theme in 1 Timothy is that how you take care of your family is a measure of your maturity as a Christian. Earlier Paul said that a Christian who does not take good care of his family is not fit to be a senior leader in the church (1 Timothy 3:5). Here Paul goes even further. He says that if a Christian does not take good care of his family, especially people in his own household, he has denied the Christian faith. By failing to care for his family, that Christian shows that his faith makes no practical difference, gives other Christians a bad name and thus “is worse than an unbeliever” (v8).
As followers of Jesus, one of the best ways we can show that we love God is in how we love our family.
Father, You are the best at leading and taking care of Your family. Help me to take excellent care of my family too — both my natural family and my spiritual family that is my church. Through the way I take care of my family and spiritual family, may the love of Your Son Jesus Christ shine through me. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
