Reflections on 1 Timothy 5

1 Timothy 05 (Contemporary English Version)


1. Don't correct an older man. Encourage him, as you would your own father. Treat younger men as you would your own brother,
2. and treat older women as you would your own mother. Show the same respect to younger women that you would to your sister.
3. Take care of any widow who is really in need.
4. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn to serve God by taking care of her, as she once took care of them. This is what God wants them to do.
5. A widow who is really in need is one who doesn't have any relatives. She has faith in God, and she keeps praying to him night and day, asking for his help.
6. A widow who thinks only about having a good time is already dead, even though she is still alive.
7. Tell all of this to everyone, so they will do the right thing.
8. People who don't take care of their relatives, and especially their own families, have given up their faith. They are worse than someone who doesn't have faith in the Lord.
9. For a widow to be put on the list of widows, she must be at least sixty years old, and she must have been faithful in marriage.
10. She must also be well-known for doing all sorts of good things, such as raising children, giving food to strangers, welcoming God's people into her home, helping people in need, and always making herself useful.
11. Don't put young widows on the list. They may later have a strong desire to get married. Then they will turn away from Christ
12. and become guilty of breaking their promise to him.
13. Besides, they will become lazy and get into the habit of going from house to house. Next, they will start gossiping and become busybodies, talking about things that are none of their business.
14. I would prefer that young widows get married, have children, and look after their families. Then the enemy won't have any reason to say insulting things about us.
15. Look what's already happened to some of the young widows! They have turned away to follow Satan.
16. If a woman who is a follower has any widows in her family, she should help them. This will keep the church from having that burden, and then the church can help widows who are really in need.
17. Church leaders who do their job well deserve to be paid twice as much, especially if they work hard at preaching and teaching.
18. It is just as the Scriptures say, "Don't muzzle an ox when you are using it to grind grain." You also know the saying, "Workers are worth their pay."
19. Don't listen to any charge against a church leader, unless at least two or three people bring the same charges.
20. But if any of the leaders should keep on sinning, they must be corrected in front of the whole group, as a warning to everyone else.
21. In the presence of God and Christ Jesus and their chosen angels, I order you to follow my instructions! Be fair with everyone, and don't have any favorites.
22. Don't be too quick to accept people into the service of the Lord by placing your hands on them. Don't sin because others do, but stay close to God.
23. Stop drinking only water. Take a little wine to help your stomach trouble and the other illnesses you always have.
24. Some people get caught in their sins right away, even before the time of judgment. But other people's sins don't show up until later.
25. It is the same with good deeds. Some are easily seen, but none of them can be hidden.
    
    

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    Chapter 5 is devoted to practical advise from Paul to Timothy about guiding the Ephesian church. In it Paul offers guidelines for relating to various members of the congregation, how to select widows who are to be under the care of the church, and the support, disciplining and choosing of church elders.
    
    Paul told Timothy to relate to members of the congregation as he would members of his family. Thus, approach older men as a father, younger men as brothers, older women as a mother, and younger women as sisters. Next he addressed the support of widows. Widows and orphans were considered special objects of God's mercy, and thus a responsibility of the church. But Paul recognized that guidelines were needed to avoid both an overload on the church and to avoid encouraging unwise practices. To begin with, the first responsibility for care of widows is the family and not the church. It is not wise for the church to take over that responsibility if a widow has family members able to help. Thus widows who have children or grandchildren should look to them for support. Also, any woman who has the means should care for widows in her family. This could conceivably include widows who have the means helping other widows in the family.
    
    Paul included further exceptions to those who should be added to the widow's list. These are best understood if one realizes that in being accepted on the widow's list a widow pledged herself to God, through the church, for her support as she would a husband, in a sense making God her husband. Paul alludes to this in 5:5: "The real widow, left all alone, has put her hope in God." It was in this context that Paul instructed Timothy not "to enroll younger widows" on the widows list because they may desire to remarry, thus renouncing "their original pledge" to God. Paul also had other reasons for not including younger widows on the list. Placing them on the list removed their need to work, thus exposing them to idleness and the temptation to go "from house to house; they are not only idle, but are also gossips and busybodies, saying things they shouldn't say." (5:13) The church has to be wise in offering help so that it truly helps rather than hurting.
    
    The final portion of the chapter provides guidelines for dealing with elders of the church. There are three parts to this section. The first has to do with support for elders. Those who labor on behalf of the church, especially those who "work hard at preaching and teaching," are worthy of "an ample honorarium." (5:17) Paul refers back to Old Testament teaching on this instruction. Next, the church should not be quick to make accusation against an elder. No accusation should be accepted unless it is supported by two or three witnesses. However, if an elder if found to be guilty, he should be publicly rebuked, thus discouraging others from sinning. As a safeguard against having to discipline elders, it is best to exercise caution up front in the selection of elders. Thus Paul tells Timothy not to "be too quick to lay hands on anyone." (5:22) Instead, individuals should be observed over time before offering to lay hands on them in ordination. Through observation over time, one's sins or good works will become obvious. Even those that are initially hidden.