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.