March 27, 2011
Background Scripture: 1 Timothy 5:1-22
Devotional Reading: John 12:20-26
1 Timothy 5 may appear to some as not being very relevant for us today. True, it is devoted to the life of a congregation almost 2,000 years ago and today the  geographical, historical and societal settings are probably quite different than ours.

For example, the organization and regulation of a congregation’s widows, 5:3-16, probably met the needs of the Asia Minor first century A.D. Christians. But our society is much less restrictive of widows: They may marry and remarry as they please. So, 1 Tim. 5:9 would not be a rule to necessarily follow today: “Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age; having been the wife of one husband.”

Nevertheless, there are some spiritual principles in 1 Timothy 5 that are applicable in any era. 1 Timothy 5:1,2 advises us: “Do not rebuke an older man but exhort him as you would a father; treat younger men like brothers, older women like mothers, younger women like sisters, in all purity.” Underlying this advice is the admonition to give proper respect to all members of the congregation according to their station.

Note: The writer does not limit our respect just to pleasant older men, or respectable younger men, or the like. It is easy to treat those whom we like with respect, but that is not intended to be an outer limit. (How is the “respect” level in your church?)
Burdens and backs

In one of my parishes there was a couple who were often avoided because they were unable to end a conversation. Just the same, most people treated them with respect because, despite their tiresome habit, they were often first to respond to other people’s needs and worked long and hard in many different projects.

They never regarded these projects as burdens, but opportunities to witness to the gospel. Many of us would like to escape burdens, but Phillips Brooks (writer of “O Little Town of Bethlehem”) said, “I do not pray for a lighter load, but for a stronger back.” What do you pray for?

Underlying the passage regarding widows (5:9-16) is a concern for a category of congregants not respected and honored by the society in which they lived. In the Mediterranean/Middle East world, widows were usually neither respected nor assisted in what for many was a station of poverty and societal isolation.
Here is where the Christian attitude was in serious conflict with that of the society. In what issues do you find the Christian attitude in conflict with those of society today?

Further, it was expected that families that included widows would be the first line aid and assistance for them. At one time in our own nation’s history, that was the expectation, especially among Christians. Today, however, that sense of responsibility has been severely weakened.

In Galatians 6:2, Paul says, “Bear one another’s burdens,” and in 6:5, he adds:
“Every man shall bear his own burden.” Is that a contradiction? No, we need to bear our own burdens and willingly help bear the burdens of others.
No partiality

Partiality may still be a factor in our congregational life today. Many a church has split over the domination of a particular family or a group of people that have some sort of “axe to grind.”

The writer of 1 Timothy, however, warns: “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without favor, doing nothing from partiality” (5:21). Is your church free of partiality? Are you?
Thomas Fuller says that benevolence “is the glory of the true religion in that it inculcates and inspires a spirit of benevolence – It is a religion of charity … Christ went about doing good; he set the example to his disciples, and they abounded in it.” Does your faith and/or your church inspire “a spirit of benevolence?”

Have you noted that in this fifth chapter the writer is focusing on behavior? In verse 8 he says something which should shock those who believe that “right belief” alone is the key to Christian living: “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his own family, he has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

By our behavior, by our actions, what we do and do not do, we are in danger of disowning the faith – and our state is worse than that of an unbeliever! Does your behavior “disown the faith” and leave you in a state “worse than an unbeliever?”

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.