Honor Where Honor Is Due
HONOR WHERE HONOR IS DUE
1 TIMOTHY 5:1-8
Because the church is like a family, members are to treat one another as they would brothers and sisters, parents and children. This means that we must care for those in need.
Paul turns to classes of people in the church and instructs Timothy in the proper attitudes to be taken toward them. He begins with the “older man” or perhaps the “elder” (it is not always certain whether the term is being used of age or of official position, but the official appears in 4:17, so here we probably have senior citizens). It is not proper for a youth to rebuke his elders. Timothy should therefore treat older men as he would his father. This gives the clue to the way Christians should interpret all their relationships in the community of believers. They should treat fellow Christians as brothers, mothers or sisters (5:1f.).
It seems clear that in the early church there was a sustained attempt to relieve the needs of widows (see also Acts 6:1 for the early origin of the practice). Due to the social customs of the day they were in a particularly vulnerable position and the church saw their care as something important. But the financial resources of the church were very limited, and it was important that they be used wisely. This appears to be behind 5:3ff., with the distinction between “real widows” and others.
Paul gives instructions about family godliness. People should make provision for their own where they can (5:4; see also 5:16). It seems likely that when the church began to help the needy widows, some who were far from worthy tried to get in on the list. So Paul speaks of the kind of life that a “real widow” will live. He contrasts her dependence on God and her constant prayers with the self-indulgence of one who “is dead even while she lives” (5:5f.). And Paul can use very strong language when he comes to the importance of making proper provision for one’s own immediate family (5:5). This is not the kind of thing to be left to the collective efforts of the church where one can well do it oneself. Even unbelievers will often perform this duty and in so doing show up professing Christians who do not. “He has disowned the faith” is a strong statement and should provoke serious reflection.