1Timothy 5:14-15 - Roost-rulers!

”Therefore I am wanting youngers to be marrying, to be bearing children, to be ruling a household, to be giving not one occasion to the [one] opposing for the sake of insulting...  For already some were turned after satan.”

-Get married.  There were no other career options for women in Paul’s day.  He is not disrespecting their abilities one iota - just the opposite, in fact.  The career path for women in Paul’s day lay almost solely in running an enterprise known as an oikos, a household.  It required (still does!) leadership skills, financial acumen, managerial expertise as well as HR, not to mention skills in areas such as education, medicine, event planning, construction and repair, not to mention culinary arts - the list goes on.  It was - and is - a huge, demanding responsibility.  And all the more so because children are in the mix.  Bearing and raising (bearing with?) children - that’s a giant task all by itself, what with the future of society depending on the outcome and all.  So, to be sure, we’re talking about a team effort here, but the word Paul uses here makes it clear that even in his day, women - including these younger widows - had a tremendous opportunity, an extremely high calling in life.  They were literally to be the oikos-despot, which would be someone who holds absolute power, all authority in the land, or in this case the house.  Ruling the roost, so to speak.  And again, we’re talking a team effort - it's going to require a lot of both mom and dad however they decide to team up and work it out, and yes, the husband is still the buckstopper, but Paul is certainly describing tremendous authority, responsibility, and opportunity!

-There is uncertainty as to how some of these young women were in fact following satan, but what a sad summary of affairs, this.  Some had already turned after satan.  It could be that some younger widows were among those who were paying attention to the doctrines of demons (1Timothy 4.1).  Perhaps some of them were more like those mentioned in 2Timothy 3.6, weak-willed and weighed down with sins, giving in to various impulses.  But there is a better way, and it’s not rocket science.  Well, it could be - for some.  Typically, able-bodied sound-minded people - men and women - need something to do, we all need something to cultivate, something productive to do (and our Maker is more than ready to provide that - He has something in mind for each one of us - Ephesians 2.10 - just as He did for the first couple - cf Genesis 1.26-28, 2.15).  It keeps the mind from wandering and the soul from getting soft and flabby.  Cuz all this lazy indulgent living uglifies the name of Jesus.  It gives those on the outside - whether just a spiritual critic or the accuser himself - the occasion to besmirch the church, to slander the good name of the Lord our God.  But make no mistake: hard work, excellent work, beautiful work makes the Lord look good and pleases Him (1Corinthians 10.31).  “When I run, I feel His pleasure...” - Eric Liddell.  Are you and I acquainted with this feeling?  A job well done?  Doesn’t that feel good?  I think it makes the Lord feel good, too...!

1Timothy 5:13 - Not working is not going to work

”But at same also idle they are learning, going around the houses, but not only idle but rather also gossips and busybodies, speaking the [things] not being necessary.”

-Idle.  The engine is running, but we’re not going anywhere.  Wasting gas.  That’s a problem, and Paul is trying to head it off at the pass.  Because idle hands surely are the devil’s business.  Doing nothing, certainly nothing good (up to no good.  He (or she) who is slack in their work is brother to him who destroys (Proverbs 18.9)(which of course is the devil's business, cf John 10.10).  Good for nothing.  Useless.  Literally.  And that literally is the word in the Greek - it is a-ergon, NOT work, the negative of work.  The absence of work.  A younger, able-bodied woman who was put on church support when she was still able to work - at least the kinds of work which were available to women in that day - would be learning the lesson of not working, Paul says.  Are they able to work?  If they are, then they need to be working.  But that is the question here.  An older widow, a widow indeed would be one who was advanced in age enough to basically be unable to work.  But if they CAN work, Paul says, if they are mentally and physically capable of work, then they ought not to be put on the rolls of receiving financial assistance, not from the church, nor from anyone else, really.  Because you don’t want to send the message that non-work is okay.  Not working is not going to work.

-Work, in fact, is god-like.  Like our God, Who works (John 5.17), Who works great and marvelous wonders (Exodus 15.11), Who did complete His work and rested.  We are commanded to work (2Thessalonians 3.10-12).  We were MADE to work, to work heartily as unto the Lord (Colossians 3.23), to work hard (cf Acts 20.35, 2Thessalonians 3.8), six days a week, and then we rest (Exodus 20.9).  Rest which is made that much sweeter by the knowledge that I worked hard.  I earned this.  It is food for the soul, in fact (John 4.34).  In contrast, undeserved rest is one of those guilty pleasures which I can’t fully enjoy because it is tinged with guilt, laced with the bitter knowledge that I don’t really deserve this.  Freeloading is for the birds - and actually, it isn’t, because even as Scripture tells us that God Himself feeds the birds, they must still work to gather their food.

-But when I shift into idle (neutral OR park, it doesn't matter), when I am going nowhere and doing nothing, too much time on my hands, not busy, not taking care of my business, I wind up sticking my nose into other people’s business.  Instead of managing my own house and affairs, I’m going around to other people’s houses and getting wrapped up in their affairs, Paul says.  I spend my time talking not just to other people but also ABOUT other people, wasting my time (and theirs), talking about things which are unhelpful and unnecessary.  Babbling.  Turns out my tongue is not idle at all.  I wind up talking about people behind their back, not building them or my hearers up in the least.  Lacking the self-control to apply myself to productive work, I lack the self-control to tame my tongue, which of course is a restless evil and full of deadly poison (James 3.8).  Things ought not be this way.  So unnecessary.

-Jesus said really only one thing was necessary - and He actually said it to someone who WAS in fact working hard, working so hard she was all hot and bothered that her sister Mary was not doing any work (cf Luke 10.40-42).  So there is a balance - there is a time to be working, for those who are able to do so, and there is a time to sit at Jesus' feet and to rest.  And may the Lord give us the wisdom and grace and strength of body and soul to live beautifully into both!

1Timothy 5:11-12 - No Condemnation?

”But younger widows be refusing.  For when they should be drawn away by impulse from Christ, they are wanting to be marrying...having judgment, since the first faith they rejected.” 

-Is it bad, or wrong for a widow to remarry?  No, of course not - Paul says as much in verse 14.  But apparently what you don’t want is for a widow to get put on this list, and then to have to be taken off because of a natural desire to remarry.

-The problem comes into better focus when we get a clearer picture of what all is involved as it pertains to this list.  Getting put on this list of honored widows involves some kind of a pledge, a commitment of some sort apparently.  Again, some suggest that what Paul has been talking about is these older, unattached and otherwise destitute widows entering in to a official order within the church, a life devoted to service, caring for orphans and the like - and for this service the church would commit to providing for them financially.  Some insist that the widows referred to in Acts 9.39 and 9.41 are an early glimpse of this order.

-Even if Paul only has some kind of formal financial assistance, here we do find a second group of widows who should NOT be supported by the church in any special manner per se.  There are some widows who, as we have seen, still have family or relatives who can (and should) take care of them.  And then there are these younger widows who are still marry-able.  They can still bear children.  All the things that go with doing that one flesh thing.  So Timothy, don’t even bother going through whatever formalities might be involved in having the church begin to support one of these younger widows who could still remarry.

-What Paul is trying to do is to spare them condemnation.  Nobody likes condemnation.  And actually, Paul tells us in Romans 8.1 that actually there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ.  So what’s he talking about here?  It looks like we are talking about some horizontal commitment associated with this list, a pledge of some sort.  Getting on this list involved making some kind of pledge of celibacy.  There was a consecration to Christ - and this again is why some feel that there is some kind of official service at stake.  Sort of like a cloister.  But surely whatever condemnation would be incurred by a woman setting aside her pledge of celibacy and full-time service would be strictly a horizontal one.  But there is perhaps an even greater problem associated with putting a younger, re-marryable widow on this list.  Next verse...

1Timothy 5:10 - Life Beacons

”...in beautiful works being witnessed, if she raised children, if she welcomed strangers, if she washed feet of saints, if she helped the [ones] being afflicted, if she devoted to every good work.”

-Six more things which would have qualified an older, faithful widow to be added to the list of those receiving some form of assistance from the assembly.  Suffice it to say, these are things to which younger women should aspire, life beacons, if you will, beckoning us on to a life which truly reflects the breathtaking goodness of God.  Did they absolutely need to go six for six?  I think we may be in a bit of a gray area there.  My guess is that the heart of a woman who is truly devoted to following Jesus will naturally gravitate towards most if not all of these.  They are like spiritual instincts - not so much an arduous wearying checklist of works, but rather, if you were to observe the life of any true Christ-follower, you would be able to glimpse most if not all of these, exuding naturally, not forced in the least.  Nevertheless, such women do become godly examples, beacons of a sort, instructional signposts to help instruct younger women (and men as well) on how the life of Christ in a believer can and should manifest.  

-One might ask (as we should) to what extent this list is influenced by the culture of the time and place in which Paul was writing.  Excellent question.  Like clearly, in a heavily patriarchal culture, women would be expected to raise children, and in fact, would have much of their perceived value placed on their ability simply to provide children (especially sons) for the would-be patriarch.  Now, is this the perpetual purview of women, particularly in the family?  Is that how God always and absolutely forever intends society to function?  I do think that this is a both/and.  Remember that both moms and dads are a part of this.  In the beginning, God made them male AND female, and He blessed them, saying, be fruitful and multiply.  In other words, have kids who have kids.  Families.  And it’s a team effort, both mom and dad.  Even the men who would be elders (and deacons) must have a qualifying role in the family, remember?  It looks different, of course - men and women are wired differently.  The men are standing beautifully before the family, the household - there is this going before, protecting and providing, leading and guiding, buck-stopping and bullet-taking.  There is authority and responsibility and a (different?) level of accountability.  They are also helping the children to learn obedience - there is teaching and correction, no doubt.  So do the moms do none of this?  I do think the lines can blur from family to family, but theirs is a different role, a complementary one, a completely different word when it comes to family and kids.  But before we get to kids, Paul first mentions...

-In beautiful works being witnessed...  Beautiful works.  These are on display for all to see.  Would they see her in her prayer closet, or in her tithing?  Things that are supposed to be hidden?  Perhaps not.  But people somehow see her in action.  It is her faith in action, following her Savior, following in His footsteps, doing what HE would do if He were here (which He is, in fact - in her heart).  Doing those things which beautify the name of Jesus.  Doing them not to BE seen - the spotlight is on Jesus - but her works are clearly visible.  Life beacons.  You will know them by their fruit, Jesus said (Mt 7.20).  And what beautiful works would Jesus do if He were here?  Surely the list is long, but would no doubt include things like loving the least of these, compassion, helping people come to Jesus - including children...! (cf Luke 18.16)

-Raising children... So yes, this word is different than for the men, and it only appears here this one time in the entire New Testament.  It literally means to feed, or nourish, children.  The root verb is used in Matthew 6.26 and 25.37, as well as Luke 23.29.  Nature, a case for argument by design, would certainly seem to indicate that feeding (not to mention birthing) kids is more the purview of the female.  The word is broader than that, of course - it can refer to anything that goes into the raising of a child (cf Luke 4.16).  And so one might ask, how much nature is it?  Is it in the nature of the female to nurture?  Are women more wired to nourish and bring up children?  I think most would agree that most women are definitely better at this than most men.  Does that mean that men shouldn’t ever have to feed or nurture their kids?  I digress...  The point Paul is making here does turn somewhat on whether or not you believe he is referring to an actual order of widows who were to be employed in the service of the church, caring for orphans and aliens and the poor, etc.  Or were they just going to possibly receive some assistance?  Either way, what we do see emerging, what Timothy should be looking for, is a heart of service, their beautiful works focused on serving the least of these, those who are more vulnerable or less fortunate.  It’s is an others-centered task, this, the feeding and nurturing of children.  And that’s precisely the point.  This would certainly reflect the heart of our Savior Himself, He Who was gentle and humble and a servant in heart.  Surely this heart serves as a beacon for us all, male AND female...

-Welcoming strangers... Not afraid of strangers - which is xenophobia - but welcoming strangers.  This is the heart of God displayed throughout all of Scripture.  Wealth in those days consisted primarily of land and flocks and herds, things which a foreigner would not have.  They were generally classified among the most needy and vulnerable in society, and God repeatedly commands His people to help them (Exodus 23.9; Leviticus 19.10, 33-34, 25.47; Deuteronomy 10.18-19, 14.29, 24.17; Jeremiah 7.6, 22.3; Ezekiel 22.29; Zechariah 7.10; Malachi 3.5; cf Psalm 146.9).  Welcoming strangers, taking them in, feeding them, caring for them, helping them on their way or land on their feet, would be another indicator of a widow’s heart which was truly after God’s own heart.

-Washing the feet of the saints... Surely our minds all gravitate here to the picture of Christ Himself, their leader, wrapping a towel around His waist and taking on the task of a slave, stooping to wash the disciples’ filthy smelly feet (John 13.3-5ff).  An act of service, one of selfless kindness - others first, others better.  Timothy should be looking for a heart that is ready to and regularly does serve the body of Christ, even and including doing those things which are menial and thankless.  A humble readiness to lower myself.  To do the dirty work.  I am not too good for this...

-Helping those being afflicted... Those who are crushed, oppressed, in trouble.  Perhaps they’ve fallen and they can’t get up.  But more likely, life - or some ne’er-do-well with power - is dealing them a blow upside the head.  Knocking them down.  They need some assistance, someone to come to their aid.  The verb means to suffice upon - whatever will suffice to meet the need of the hour, that’s where these widows - and God’s people - should be stepping up and stepping in...

-Devoted to every good work... The idea here is that of following upon something or someone.  Following in the steps of Jesus, for example, Who left us an example to follow (1Peter 2.21).  Here Paul talks about following after every good work.  Eyes open and peeled, at the ready, taking advantage of any and every opportunity to do something good, to do what is right, to do what God wants and what blesses others.  That’s the kind of heart that Paul says Timothy’s church should look for in the widows they would honor... If you belong to an assembly, you know just the people Paul is describing.  She is a shining beacon of light and life, standing out not like a sore thumb but rather like a rose among thorns, a fragrant perfume, a sweet-smelling aroma of Christ which blesses all those who come in contact with her.  You wish you had a dozen more like her.  And may her tribe increase...!

1Timothy 5:9 - Is That L.L. Bean?

”Let a widow be catalogued not less than sixty years having come to be, a woman of one man...”

-A catalog of widows?  You mean, like Land’s End, or L.L. Bean?  The JC Penney catalog (does anyone even remember that)?  That’s literally the noun form of this word in the Greek - kata-logos.  This suggests that there was a catalog, or list of widows in these early churches, and those thus included were to receive some kind of assistance from the local assembly, and were possibly even to occupy an official function within that assembly (there is no consensus on this).  But for sure, we’re talking about older widows, bereft of family (aka “widows indeed”), who would be given “honor” (1Timothy 5.3) - apparently some kind of financial assistance (note that elders who ruled well were to receive “double honor”, and this was about payment, 1Timothy 5.17-18).  Paul goes on to list several qualifications which a widow would need to meet in order to be included in the catalog...

-60 years old.  Paul says that these widows should be at least 60 years old.  Apparently this would have put them past the age where there was much liklihood of them remarrying.  In that culture, these would have been some of the most vulnerable, most destitute.  They are way past the age of childbearing (cf 1Timothy 5.14), and their physical body is past its prime as it relates to managing a household (or doing really any other kind of work).  Some would have said good for nothing...?

-The woman of one man.  But look beyond the numbers, Paul says.  This is the similar qualification given for an elder (1Timothy 3.2).  Which can give some clarity on that point as well.  Polygamy in the strict sense is clearly not in mind here, in that this was not really the purview of women in that day - or ever.  It is a view to a heart of faithfulness, and self-control, a woman who is chaste and not at all given to a life of sensuality.  She can rein in her feelings for the sake of a higher call, a higher good.  Next verse...

1Timothy 5:8 - Spiritual treason

”But if anyone the [ones] of his own even especially [his] household is not thinking before, the faith he has denied and he is an unbeliever worse than.”

-Planning ahead and taking care of your oikos, your household.  It's about the kind of foresight which allows you to provide.  Provision usually requires some forethought.  Planning ahead.  This is what we do for our families.  Or should.  Which includes our parents.  The context completely supports this.  But this is sure inconvenient, isn’t it?  All those resources you could be spending on yourself, to have to spend them on your parents?  It’s not like they birthed you and raised you and scrimped and saved and sacrificed for 20+ years on your behalf or something... I jest.  :)  These ones who gave so much for you - should you not care for them when they are no longer able to care for themselves, much less you, anymore?

-The Lord takes this very seriously.  Failure to provide for your family is spiritual treason.  A denial of the faith, Paul says.  Worse than unbelieving - which is hard to imagine conceptually, but Paul puts it out there.  Worse than an unbeliever, is the one who fails to provide for their family.  Cuz even unbelievers will care for their own.  This thinking and planning ahead of course doesn’t mean that you fully anticipate every eventuality, every tragedy or loss.  It is more of a mindset of care and commitment, to take care of those closest to me, and this includes my parents.  Now since parents aren’t perfect, invariably there will be those relationships which have been strained and even severed over the years, neglect, abuse, abandonment - a long line of abuses may mean that providing for my family begins with showing grace and forgiveness to the one(s) who perhaps fell short in providing and caring for me.  Showing them the love of God by working to rebuild that which was destroyed, or which perhaps never got very far off the ground to begin with.  Honor your mother and father - this is indeed the first command with a promise (Exodus 20.12, cf Ephesians 6.2).  What might that look like for you and for me today?  This week?  This year?

1Timothy 5:7 - Not just for elders...

”And these be constantly commanding, in order that above reproach they may be.” 

-Repetition.  We just talked about this (see what’s happening here...?).  Repetition is the mother of all learning.  Aristotle said, “frequent repetition produces a natural tendency.”  It helps a skill move from conscious to subconscious.  In other words, you don’t even have to think about it any more.  It becomes natural.  Now Paul repeats the command for Timothy to be commanding this flock, the one he just gave 12 verses ago (1Timothy 4.11).  Same command.  So Paul says, be constantly commanding and repeating yourself, Timothy - and be commanding these things too.  And why is this?  Why all this repetition?  There is certainly an end game for Timothy - confidence as he shepherds this flock.  But for the flock?  What does Paul want to become natural for the flock?  Why does Pete need to fall out of the boat so that Repeat can do his thing?  What needs to be repeatedly repetitious?  Paul wants the whole flock to be naturally and thoroughly above reproach.

-That’s right, above reproach is not just for elders...!  The entire flock needs to be above reproach.  Widows need to be above reproach.  The least of these need to be above reproach.  Which means every last one of us, Christ-followers, from the greatest to the least, we all need to strive with all our stength - according to the power of His mighty Spirit Who is at work in us - to live up to this same standard.  Above reproach.  Untouchable, right?  Can’t lay even the smallest finger of accusation on me.  But based on the context, above reproach then includes NOT living this life of careless ease and of living for me first.  Not widows, but not me and you either.  All of us, free from the love of money and self and of careless ease.  The world instinctively knows this.  Do they not turn up their nose at all the religious posturing, the charlatans, at all the worldly excess and selfishness they observe coming not only from those so-called televangelists but from your average ordinary professing Christians?  The church is full of hypocrites, that’s what they say.  Is it not a stench in their nostrils (and those of our Lord), the holier-than-thou hypocrisy which strains out gnats and neglects the weightier things of God, things like love?  And caring for (widowed) parents (cf Matthew 15.4-7)?  Lukewarm devotion which is not all in and 100% sold out for the King and His kingdom?  Sell all you have - isn’t that what Jesus said (Matthew 19.21, Luke 18.22, cf Acts 2.45, 4.34)?  Shouldn’t we His people be erring somewhere on that side of things?  It doesn’t mean that there is no enjoyment of some of the all good things which God supplies (1Timothy 4.3-4, 6.17), by no means, but surely there ought to be a rising tide of pervasive others-centeredness at the heart of who I am (becoming).  Gratitude and openhanded generosity.  And it certainly starts in the family... Next verse!

1Timothy 5:6 - True Zombies

”But the [one] living in careless ease, living has died.”

-Some suggest that when you stop living you start dying, but Paul narrows the focus.  When you stop giving and serving, you start dying.  You can see this illustrated in places like Amos 6.1-7 and Ezekiel 16.49.  It is living a life which is all about self, about comfort and ease and abundance, while needs abound all around us.  The walking dead, basically.  True zombies.  They look alive, but on the inside they’ve died.  Perfect tense.  At some point in the past, they died, with continuing results in the present.  They were never really alive in fact.  They were born dead, stillborn if you will, dead in their sins, and the life of Christ simply has never been planted and taken root in their hearts.  There is no life or love of God in them.  Only the threefold-self, me-myself-and-I.  Living and looking out for number one.  Nothing else really matters, nothing is more important.  Sure, maybe there is room for others on the margins, a few ungleaned scraps, but I am gonna go for the gusto, I am gonna enjoy the good things of this life, I am gonna build more barns and fill ‘em with more stuff and I am gonna travel and do pretty much everything I want pretty much whenever I want - cuz I can - and the fate of my soul and plight of those around me is not gonna disturb my soul slumber.  Not gonna cost me even one minute of sleep.  And the day of the Lord, the day of reckoning, will come upon me like a thief in the night, an uninvited and unanticipated intruder.  The great truth of life will dawn on me like a blazing sunrise, like a two-by-four in the face, that this life is so not about me, never was, never should be.  Sadly, for too many, by then it will be too late (cf Luke 16.19-31).

-No, you and I are never done serving and giving as long as we’re still living.  Generosity, altruism - they are never old-fashioned, never goes out of style.  There is never a time when we can quit thinking about others and the needs around us - and if/when our bodies fail us or fall short of being able to get out there, so to speak, we can continue in prayer.  But while we have strength, ours are the footsteps of Caleb (Joshua 14.10-12).  Give me the hill country, he said!  85, and still going uphill, getting after it.  Give me the hardest thing you’ve got, he said.  Turns out, the hardest thing may very well be that simple daily dying to self, living in to the Great Command and the Second-which-is-like-it.  Daily dying turns out to be the path of life, the soul’s sole way out of death.  Let’s choose life, shall we?

1Timothy 5:5 - Purview of the aged?

“But the [one] really a widow and having been left alone has hoped upon God and is continuing in entreaties and prayers night and day.”

-Real widows.  Widows indeed.  These are those who have been left alone - but not in a good way, not in earthly terms at least.  No family, no visible means of support.  Her family, her primary familial connection then, is almighty God.  He has become her only means of support, her lifeline.  Which, technically, is always true for each one of us.  But this widow indeed, she is looking to the Lord.  Her hope is in Him.  He is her help, her shield, her rock and fortress.  He is her Good Shepherd, leading her beside still waters and into green pastures.  And she has learned (or is learning) to pray.  

-Obviously younger women and children can also find themselves with no visible means of support, and Paul of course is helping Timothy determine who should be receiving support from the assembly.  But what about prayer?  Is this the purview only of the aged, of those who have truly learned that horses and chariots and the vigor of youth ultimately do fail, but the Lord is a strong tower?  He is a ready source of strength for all, the gracious Provider of our every need.  Must it be that it is only when you have come to the end of your rope and your means and your power that only then do you truly fix your hope on the Lord?  Is it only then that you and I learn to pray?  Must it be this way?  In many ways it IS this way - we hear over and over about the faithful effective prayers of mom or grandma catching up with her chicks-flown-the-coop.  There ARE lots of things one can do, but surely there are none more effective than this.

-Men ramp up to do great exploits and bring home the bacon, and sadly often do leave much of the praying up to the women folk, do they not?  With all our doing, surely the most important “do” is to BE, to be still and know that God is God (Psalm 46.10), to acknowledge and to affirm that great truth and to live into it with true submission and dependence - expressed through consistent, persistent, insistent, confident prayer.  Surely we ought not leave this great work only up to the women, to the widows indeed.  There is no work more important - or accessible - than prayer.  Yes, there’s always something we can do, no matter our age, no matter our family or marriage status, no matter the time of day.  Day and night.  Day and night - any one of us can pray.  Don’t need any fancy degrees or special training.  Don’t need an office or a fancy building with a fancy sound system.  Any - and all - can be still and pray.  And no small work, this.  This is THE work of the ministry.  This is how the mighty muscle of God’s omnipotence moves, in response to the prayers of His people.  Of widows indeed.  There may be none who are weaker in the body, but those who are mighty in prayer are true giants in the church - and in our world.

1Timothy 5:4 - The Return

“...but if a certain widow has children or grandchildren, let them be learning first their own household to be worshipping and to be giving back exchange to the parents.  For this is acceptable in the face of God.”

-Losing your spouse is certainly right up there among the most devastating of losses - especially if you were (or are) a woman in a strongly patriarchal society.  Not only do you lose this one who is (or should be?) your best friend, but you could very likely be losing your means of support.  This was totally the case in Paul’s day.  Yet often times, a woman who has lost her husband still has children or grandchildren who can - and should(!) - take her in and support her.  Value her, protect her, provide for her.  This is the standard familial obligation - make some return, a giving back to your parents.  Children need to learn and live into the Return.  And truly, why wouldn’t children want to make some recompense for the person(s) who brought them into the world?  Raised them with love, sweat and tears, did she not?  Long hours and low pay (none!), with no expectation for payback and nary a word of thanks, did she not?  But yes, sadly, in a broken world even mothers are broken and can (and do) pass that on in their childrearing in various forms and degrees.  Children can be the walking wounded, unwitting victims of a mom who was wounded by her own mom (or dad)(or uncle or boyfriend - or you fill in the blank).  

-But Paul says, no matter - in all our worldly way-making and would-be learning to follow and worship our Maker, our first point of worship - of giving God His worth-ship - is in the home.  The preeminent altar of our lives is our family.  Learn what a life of worship looks like in the home, Paul says.  It begins here.  In our own family, to our parents.  That’s where God began.  With all His heavenly world-making, He made a family.  The first parents.  And He blessed this family, giving them marching orders to be blessing to all the families of the earth.  Thus loving and living for the Lord begins and ends in the family.  Real worship, which pleases Him.  Not just a service with songs and a sermon once a week.  Not a program.  A lifestyle of honoring God as God and of learning to live into treasuring Him and what He treasures.  The gratitude, the respect, the love and care which we show to our parents, this "giving back exchange"?  This is the Return, and it is acceptable - well-pleasing - in the sight of God, Paul says.  It pleases Him when we value our parents, including and particularly our moms, if and when they become widows (i.e. vulnerable).  What would it look like for you and I to value our parents today?  Is there some brokenness, some woundedness which the Lord needs to heal?

1Timothy 5:3 - Precious Gems Indeed

“Widows be honoring, the [ones] really widows.”

-Speaking of respecting the elderly... Honor widows, Paul says.  This word group in the Greek refers to something which is precious, costly, valuable (1Corinthians 3.13; Colossians 2.23; James 5.7; 1Peter 1.19, 2.7; 2Peter 1.4; Revelation 18.21, 21.11).  They are like precious gems.  Value them, in other words, treat them as precious, prioritze them in the economy of your life, your assembly.  Look out for them and help them, in other words.  The early church struggled with this at points (Acts 6.1).  Not in their desire, but in the practical implementation thereof.  In our culture we perhaps have a different struggle, widow-care in varying degrees getting buried under increasing layers of disrespect for elders and the breakdown of the family.  But particularly in the culture of Paul’s day, the predominance of patriarchal cultures where women tended to be devalued, treated as objects, possessions, so much chattel even (we don’t see this in God’s economy however).  They usually were not educated and did not “work”, not outside of the home at least, such that an older woman who was bereft of family - no husband, no sons (or daughters who could marry) - could quickly become destitute (in addition to being heartbroken).  These were among the most vulnerable in society, right up there with orphans.  With no income and no legal status when it came to owning property, widows were essentially consigned to a life of poverty.  Powerless.  Defenseless.  Dependent on the kindness of strangers.  They needed special consideration and care as well as protection (Exodus 22.22), and as such received priority status from the Lord Himself.  They still do - or did, in Paul’s day at least.

-Scripture is full of enjoinders regarding this (Deuteronomy 10.18, Psalm 68.5, Isaiah 1.17, Jeremiah 22.3, Zechariah 7.10, Malachi 3.5).  Widows were and are near and dear to the heart of the Father - and so should they be for God’s people.  Sadly, in Paul’s day, we read that the religious leaders of Israel (those Pharisees) were actually devouring widows’ houses (Luke 20.47).  They took their homes and took advantage, zeroed in on someone who was weaker and vulnerable and took them to the cleaners.  Spiritual bullies.  Not surprising tho, really.  Bullies are everywhere.  As long as there are those who are vulnerable, there will be those who will take advantage of them.  God’s people to the rescue!  Christ-followers should surely be at the forefront of fighting for those who can’t defend themselves and figuring out just how to help.  And that is really the salient point here - protecting those who are vulnerable and helping to provide for their needs.  The trick is doing so in a way which really helps them, and which doesn’t create or exacerbate a help system which could be abused.  The issue for Timothy (and others) is that apparently some widows weren’t widowy enough - they weren’t "widows indeed” (NASB language).  Widows indeed are widows in real need.  And some of these perhaps didn’t really need to be accessing the system.  It’s still a problem today.  Next verse... 

1Timothy 5:1-2 - (de)Valuing Family Values?

“An older man you should not strike upon, but rather be exhorting as a father, younger men as brothers...older women as mothers, younger women as sisters in all purity.”

-First, let’s look at the big picture here.  Paul certainly reinforces the idea of family in the body of Christ.  We relate to one another as brothers and sisters.  We treat one another, value one another like family.  Family values.  Love.  Acceptance.  Commitment.  Sacrifice.  Caring.  Not the typical modern day western version full of brokenness and selfishness and abandonment and increasingly busy lonely people addicted to screens and the endless pursuit of stuff stuff and more stuff.  Yes, family can be (and IS) messy.  But it is loyal.  It attaches value to the members of the family.  We value one another - and we value doing so.  And an integral part of these family values includes proper respect for your elders.  Read on.

-The context of course is this whole area of teaching and sound doctrine, of commanding and putting these things under fellow believers, under their feet so to speak and into their hearts, of helping the body to understand how to avoid fruitless discussion, and to know what is appropriate conduct in the church.  Paul is telling Timothy that he definitely needs to relate to his assembly as family, which means to treat them with love and respect.  And this is especially true when the person(s) to whom he is talking might be older than him.  Respect for elders - a vanishing value in our society.  Anymore, elders are devalued - tuned out, moved out, put out (and eventually put in a home which is no home).  No, elders in your assembly, you respect, and you speak to them as you would to your father and mother (assuming you and I even know how to do that).  An added layer of respect.  You would not sharply rebuke (literally, to strike upon) your dad or your mom.  No sir.  But you wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) sharply rebuke your brother or your sister, either.  Well, perhaps this does happen when sibling rivalry rears its ugly head, but that usually only manifests among adolescents and youngers, doesn’t it?  In theory at least, family sticks together and forbears with one another, and treats one another with respect and kindness.  Purity.  Especially mom and dad.  And yes, I understand that familiarity can breed contempt, and that whole hometown prophet thing is a real thing, that families often show less respect to one another than they do to strangers, but that largely is real world brokenness manifesting itself.  I think each one of us knows that family is supposed to be a safe place, that place of enduring warmth and love and kindness and acceptance and grace and understanding.  Truth, yes, but also love and respect.  That’s how it’s supposed to be.  And that is how the family of God, the body of Christ is supposed to be too.  Which totally informs even how the pastor/teacher - in this case Timothy - is supposed to relate to his flock.  These are NOT dumb sheep - they are my fathers and mothers, my sisters and brothers, and I speak truth to them not sharply or with disrespect, but in love.  Every member of the assembly is a member of my forever family, and I must treat them accordingly.

1Timothy 4:16 - How To Prevent Spiritual Drift

”Be holding to yourself and to the teaching, be remaining to them.  For this doing both yourself you will save and the [ones] hearing you.”

-How does that saying go?  Faith that fizzles before the finish was faulty from the first?  Look out, be careful and be watching for any signs of spiritual drift, for any part of you which may be not in, which may be wandering away from the truth, the truth of the Good News which is able to save your soul.  Cuz drift could indicate that you’re not really “in” in the first place (Hebrews 3.12).  Pastor/teacher Timothy (and all those who follow in his footsteps), you need to be doubly careful, not only to be watching yourself and holding yourself to these truths about Jesus but be watching your teaching as well.  God has put you in this place of being responsible for helping others learn and understand these truths about Jesus, and you need to make sure you are holding on.  Nothing worse for the flock (and those outside) than a preacher who drifts away from Jesus.  Sheep/people (sadly) do it all the time, but when a shepherd drift, when a ministry leader does so, it can have ripple effects which extend far beyond his own life or immediate circle.  A entire flock and community of onlookers can be adversely affected.  So pay attention!

-Remain/abide in Me, Jesus says (John 15.4-5).  In My words (John 15.7).  Doing what He wants, doing what He did, walking how He walked (1John 2.6).  It is a work, something to which we must apply ourselves with all due diligence, making every conceivable effort (in the strength which He supplies of course!), every day, waking up and putting one spiritual foot in front of the other, just like you did yesterday, and the day before, each day a new beginning of obedience and faithfulness, beginning again as if nothing before had been done for God.  Yesterday’s obedience doesn’t pay forward to today.  Today, this day, is a NEW day!  A day pregnant with fresh opportunity for glory, and just as full as the day before with need for total dependence and reliance on Jesus, full of just as much impotence and powerlessness apart from the enabling of His Spirit.  

-Today, this day, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, Paul says (Philippians 2.12).  But in applying ourselves towards this end, we find that we are simply getting in joyous step with what the Lord is already doing!  We are working out that which He has already put in, the seed of His saving truth springing up to eternal life, but what’s more, we enter in to the amazing reality that He is the One actually doing the work (Philippians 2.13).  In cooperating with Him, we are like the little child who is “helping” their dad fix the car.  Dad lets us do some things, and makes it look like we’re actually doing something productive, but he’s the one doing the producing.  We then become like the man who when viewed from a distance appears to be vigorously pumping water from a well, but when you get close enough you realize that it is not a man but a stick figure made to resemble a man and more importantly, the well is not a well but a spring, one which is gushing up and causing the hand pump to move by the very overflow of the water.  We do not ultimately do the work - the work and the fruit flow out of us as they are produced by God’s Spirit in our lives.  But we have a part to play - pay attention, and go all in (and stay there, by His grace and power!) with the teaching...!

1Timothy 4:15 - Put Your Whole Self In. All Up In It.

”These [things] be attending to, be constantly in them, in order that the progress of you manifest may be to all.”

-The glory of God.  His breathtaking goodness and greatness, on display for all to see.  Not only in the heavens and in all the wondrous design and artistry of creation, but also in my life.  A wonderful impossible vested and burdened with divine glorious purpose.  A clay pot, to be sure, but one filled with marvelous treasure (2Corinthians 4.6-7)!  Yes, the very life of Jesus manifested in and through us, spilling out into the brokenness of the world around us.  The same God Who said, “Let there be light!” filling our hearts and lives with His light and power and love in such a way that the lost are found and the broken are healed and the Body is built up.  Glimpses of glory.  This is why Jesus lived - and died.  This is why He sent the Helper to be with us forever, and why He gave Timothy and each one of us a gift, some measure of giftedness.  Proper and healthy use and cultivation of God’s gifts will do just that, they will result in the growth of the body of Christ and in showing off the great goodness of almighty God and His divine eternal purpose of drawing many rebels to Himself, of transforming broken and dying me-first souls into life-giving body-building glimpses of glory.  Participation in - and progress towards - this heavenly vision is paramount.  In the words of CS Lewis, further up and further in.  And Paul says it should be obvious to all around, plain as the nose on our face.

-To this end, Timothy - and each one of us who follows Jesus - must be not neglectful but attentive.  It is a word play in the Greek (the former is simply the negative of the latter)(so, not care-less, but care-full, or better, not unattentive but attentive, not unfocused but focused).  Constantly paying close attention!  He (we) must direct his (our) focus and attention towards the greater good of the body and how God specifically wants he (me) to help it grow.  All in.  All the way in.  Absorbed in and by them, yes.  It is like the Borg in Star Trek Next Generation.  We will assimilate you.  We will add your biological distinctiveness to our own.  Resistance is futile.  But in fact, resistance - and neglect - are all too possible, are they not?  Too often we fail to add our biological and spiritual distinctiveness, our giftedness, to the collective, to the family of God, do we not?  Paul says, Timothy you must be IN this, get totally caught up in this.  All up in it.  You put your whole self in.  We along with Timothy must get caught up in the cultivation of our gift, perfecting our spiritual craft as it were, for the good of the family and the glory of God, God’s breathtaking goodness increasingly on display in our lives for all to see (and celebrate).  A redeemed lump of clay being reformed and refined and beautified by the Master Potter Himself as we put our whole selves in, our gift (which He gave us!) and all that we are at His disposal for His glory.  All in.

-This is what we were truly made for.  Anticipate the joy, the indescribable unspeakable joy!  The joy of really crushing it, of a race well run, the joy of doing something so very well, and of hearing the Father say, “Well done!”  The joy which comes from getting better and better at something, improving and excelling in some manner of service, of being able to exclaim, “I was made for this!” and all the while knowing that lives are forever better because of it!  Yessssss!  That’s what I’m talking about!  That’s what Paul’s talking about... :)

1Timothy 4:14 - On The Way To Being Wasted

”Do not be neglecting the spiritual gift in you, which was given to you through prophecy with laying upon of the hands of the council of elders.”

-Neglect.  Taking something for granted, and leaving it alone.  On the shelf.  On the way to being wasted.  He created and designed us in part to be stewards, to take care of His creation (cf Genesis 2.15), all that which He has made and has given to us for the benefit of many - not to waste it.  We neglect good things, precious things, wondrous-potential-filled things to our own detriment - and theirs.  And even gifts, special gifts, can be wasted and squandered if neglected, if they are not stewarded and developed wisely.

-Timothy had a special gift, a grace-gift from God, called a charisma (remember the Greek word for “grace” is charis).  There is a good chance that it was in fact a gift of exhortation/teaching, to which Paul refers several times in this section, and which Timothy was in some way perhaps naturally disinclined to use - which is precisely why Paul is urging him to continue in it, in this role of teaching all these things to this church in Ephesus (cf 1Timothy 4.11).  Teaching (with authority) the eternal truths of God, the precious Gospel - it can be quite an intimidating, even daunting proposition.  It is quite likely that Timothy was tempted to shy away from this role and give into an instinctive spirit of timidity (cf 2Timothy 1.6-7).

-Now Paul reminds Timothy of the origin of this gift, that his was actually given during a special ceremony, accompanied by a word of prophecy of some sort.  This is not the norm we see throughout the New Testament.  The charismata are typically given by the Holy Spirit, which is why they are also called pneumatikos (from the Greek word, pneuma, for breath/wind/Spirit).  Each person who believes in Jesus is given a gift, a manifestation of the Spirit (John 7.39, 14.16-17, 26), for the good and the building up of the body (1Corinthians 12.7, 14.26; 1Peter 4.10; Ephesians 4.12 - note: this is the work of the saints!).  These gifts are distributed and measured individually to each believer in different amounts (Romans 12.3-6, 1Corinthians 12.4-7, Ephesians 4.7-8).  The New Testament authors do not spend a lot of time addressing spiritual gifts, but when they do address the topic of the gift of the Spirit and His gifts we see copious appeals towards unity and love and serving one another (Ephesians 4.4-7, 4.13; 1Peter 4.9-10; 1Thessalonians 4.8-9; Ephesians 4.12, 15-16; 1Corinthians 14.12, 13.2-3, 8-13; Romans 14.15-17, 12.9; cf 1Corinthians 11.17, 1.7-10) and a vision for accrued glory for the Lord as a result (1Peter 4.11; Ephesians 1.14; 2Corinthians 4.17-5.5, 3.6-8, 1.20-22; Romans 8.14-18, 5.1-5; John 16.13-14).  More and more people growing in their knowledge and celebration of the breathtaking goodness of God.  And that’s really what it comes down to for Timothy, at this point.  He needs to care about the glory of God more than himself, more than his own comfort and reputation.  God has set him apart with a special gift for a special purpose, and he needs to come to and be kept at the place where he values how the cultivation and use of this gift will enhance God’s reputation and the eternal outlook of the precious souls around him more than he values simply watching out for his own donkey.  How about you and me?  How are we doing at stewarding what He has given to us?  Are we neglecting our charisma?  Do we even know what it is?  Next verse...