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1 Timothy 5:16 – Free Food

A picture of a bowl of soup and two slices of bread on a wooden table. (Grok)

If any woman who is a believer has widows in her care, she should continue to help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.

Summary: Paul continues his instructions about caring for widows.   

One of the things I like about the Bible is the underlying common sense. 

God knows who we are. He knows our hearts and knows how we think. Nothing surprises him. So when Paul talks to the church about taking care of widows, he is not given to sentimentality. 

In fact, it is exactly the opposite. 

Paul is clear-eyed about the practical realities of offering people free food. 

After all, imagine if you were offered free food. Wait, let’s make it more interesting. Imagine that you lived two thousand years ago. There are no social safety nets. People who don’t work starve. 

If you can’t find work to do, you go hungry. Some people get so tired of being hungry that they sell themselves as slaves simply because at least a slave has food to eat. 

Take the Prodigal Son for example (Luke 15:11-32). He took his inheritance and thought he was a rich man. Then he spent all his money on “wild living.” He might have thought he would be okay, even if he had to work for a living, but there was a severe famine in the land (v 14). Food was scarce, and the young man found himself with nothing to eat. The Bible says he worked on a farm feeding pigs. He was so desperate: “He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything” (v 16). 

Now, imagine you are that hungry, and someone offers you free food. Are you going to take it? 

Of course you are! 

What if, later, when the famine has passed, and you can save a little money, you are still offered free food? Do you still take it? 

Human nature suggests that you will. 

People are like that. 

That is why Paul is so cautious about letting the church pass out free food paid for by the gifts of the believers. When others have real needs, there might not be money left to help them. 

And so, Paul counsels that women who have been caring for widows should continue to do so. 

Is that fair? 

Is it fair to grow old and not have anyone around to care for you? The church is there for the truly needy, but Paul is careful to guard against envy and gluttony. 

Application: Managing what God gives us requires discernment and wisdom.  

Food for Thought: How do you define “real need”?

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1 Timothy 5:15 – How God Sees, Part II

 Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.

Summary: Looking at this passage from the perspective of church discipline reveals both a need and a solution.   

In Part I of this meditation, we looked at how God sees us as if we were made of glass. He can see into the very center of our being. He knows what is in the closets of our minds, even the things we have forgotten are exposed to his eyes. God knows us better than we know ourselves. 

We also looked at the limits of human perception. I cannot know what is in your heart any more than you can know what is in mine. I can observe what you say and do, and I can sometimes see a hint of what you are thinking, but I cannot know you as God knows you. 

In this meditation, Part II, we will look at how these two realities, God’s unlimited vision and the limits of what we can see, influence church discipline. 

First of all, there are two kinds of churches. One is the “church invisible,” the Body of Christ. This is the church that Jesus sees, regardless of the theology we adhere to or the place where we worship. 

The second kind of church is what we might call the “organizational church” or “local church.” This is the group you attend that you worship with. When we talk about church discipline, this is the arena we are talking about — the local, organizational church.

If you have someone in your congregation who turns away to ‘follow Satan,’ how does that affect the rest of the congregation? In biblical terms, I am assuming ‘following Satan’ is not limited to Satanic worship. It could be as innocuous as dividing one’s worship between Jesus and a false religion, as the Israelites did in the days of the kings (1 Kings 11:4). 

People learn from watching each other, and when it comes to authority, noting what is allowed and what is condemned. If church leadership ‘allows’ behaviors that run contrary to biblical principles, what are people to think? Are those behaviors okay? 

Church discipline doesn’t mean that everyone who strays is ‘handed over to Satan’ (1 Corinthians 5:4-5). In fact, God’s word stresses that discipline should be enforced gently.* Yet, it must be enforced. Not because we are able, by our own power, to save someone from hell, but because we want to protect the church from false teaching and ungodly behavior, and because those who wander need to be restored if they are to live a life that honors Jesus and not simply one that escapes “as one escaping through the flames” (1 Corinthians 3:15). 

Application: Faithful living requires discipline, beginning with self-discipline.  

Food for Thought: Compare a church without discipline to one that applies discipline. What do you imagine the difference would be? 

*Galatians 6:1, 2 Timothy 2:25, Hebrews 5:2

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1 Timothy 5:15 – How God Sees, Part I

 Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.

Summary: This passage provides an excellent opportunity to explore how God sees us and compare God’s view of humanity with our own.   

How do you react to Paul’s words in this passage? Does it feel like God is losing the battle and Satan is winning? Do you fear that someone is bound for hell who should have been saved? 

Continue reading “1 Timothy 5:15 – How God Sees, Part I”
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1 Timothy 5:14 – Antidote

Picture of a candle flame, courtesy of Pixabay.

So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. 

Summary: Life is hard. Adam and Eve’s sin left us with a genetic defect that opened our eyes to sin (Genesis 3:5). In this passage, Paul provides an antidote.   

Paul’s missive to Timothy has so far ranged from passionately personal to highly technical. This section on caring for widows (1 Timothy 5:3-16) is one of the more technical aspects of his letter. 

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1 Timothy 5:13 – Sound in the Faith

A greasy blob descends through clear water leaving a trail of contamination (Grok)

Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to. 

Summary: This passage, at first glance, sounds like an offhand comment about bad behavior. Digging deeper, we find an existential threat beneath the surface.   

Our last meditation on 1 Timothy 12, “Serious Stuff,” emphasized the spiritual risk of turning our back on Jesus. In this verse, Paul talks about something that seems insignificant by comparison. In verse fourteen, he counsels young widows to do things that “give the enemy no opportunity for slander.” Finally, in verse fifteen, he notes that some have turned to follow Satan. 

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1 Timothy 5:12 – Serious Stuff

A warning sign says "DANGER AHEAD" (Grok)

Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. 

Summary: This passage is an extremely blunt warning against turning our back on the Lord. 

One of the things that I find interesting about the Bible is not so much what it says, but what is not said. For example, an Old Testament prophet might be given a prophecy, but we, the readers, are not told what it is. Then later, when the prophet delivers the message, we hear the rest of the story (1 Kings 14:1-20). 

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1 Timothy 5:9-10 – Brass Tacks

Picture of brass tacks (Grok)

No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.

Summary: This is a long passage, but worth looking at as a whole. In it, Paul lays out very specific requirements for a widow to qualify for support from the church.   

In this passage, Paul gets down to what used to be called “the brass tacks.” 

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