--------------------------------------------------------------------
9No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband,[a] 10and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
11As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. 12Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. 13Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. 14So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. 15Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.
16If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.
17The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.18For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,"[b] and "The worker deserves his wages."[c] 19Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.
21I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
22Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
23Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
24The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. 25In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.
How should I deal with these differences in age in the church? When I first came here I was not conscious of this at all for you had always treated me with respect despite the difference in age between us. Here in Ephesus however things are different, I feel self conscious in the houses with young women (it feels like their fathers are always trying to marry them off to me!) and I feel a new self consciousness amongst the older men after some of the comments that have been made about my age. Should I be bolder in my teaching and rebuking of them? Would that earn me better respect?
While we are on the subject of older people I feel that I need some advice about our work scheme for the widows. It has been going well here but with the recent plagues and the high death rate among the men it is becoming a little unmanageable. We followed the example of the Antioch church and recruited older widows to look after people in the congregation in return for a small pension and a vow that they would dedicate themselves purely to the work of the church in prayer and service.
Until the recent spate of deaths that has worked well but now we have so many younger widows among us this current way of doing things seems unsustainable. How should we treat these younger widows? How should we decide who to give money to and who is genuinely in need?
We have little enough money as it is, although people do give generously, it breaks my heart sometimes to see the slaves give a tenth of what little they have for the work of the church. What money we have goes toward helping those who are poor, those who are sick and the refugees. We are also considering setting aside some of our elders from their everyday work and paying them so that they might do pastoral and preaching work full time. What do you think of this? Also should these men be more accountable to the other elders as they are taking money from the church in the way the widows are?
To help us afford this I have been living as simply as possible and taking as little money from the church as I can. I am abstaining even from wine and other alcoholic drinks, some of the older men here disapprove of them anyway and it keeps them quiet, but the local water does not seem to agree with me. Maybe a bit more physical training will help this weak constitution of mine!
-------------------------------------------------------
1 Timothy 5
Advice About Widows, Elders and Slaves
1Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity. 3Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. 4But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. 5The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 6But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. 7Give the people these instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame. 8If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.9No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband,[a] 10and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
11As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. 12Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. 13Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. 14So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. 15Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.
16If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.
17The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.18For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,"[b] and "The worker deserves his wages."[c] 19Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.
21I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
22Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
23Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
24The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. 25In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.
Footnotes:
- 1 Timothy 5:9 Or has had but one husband
- 1 Timothy 5:18 Deut. 25:4
- 1 Timothy 5:18 Luke 10:7
No comments:
Post a Comment