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.
On the surface, Paul’s discussion about widows can be seen as a specific instruction to the churches at Ephesus under Timothy’s care. However, as we have seen in our prior meditations, there are spiritual principles involved that apply to all believers.
In our passage for this meditation, Paul provides situation-specific advice for behavior that is within God’s will for believers.
For example, to the Corinthians, Paul writes:
“Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.” (1 Corinthians 7:8)
Notice Paul’s default position: It is better to stay unmarried. At first, this might seem to contradict his advice to Timothy, but he is actually being very consistent. Part of his argument for limiting the “Widow’s List” to widows who are over sixty and who demonstrate a deep devotion to serving the Lord is that “it is good for them to stay unmarried,” just as Paul is.
Then, just as he warns Timothy that the younger Ephesian widows will fall into habits that bring judgment on them, he tells the Corinthian church:
“But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” (1 Corinthians 7:9)
What happens when we allow ourselves to “burn with passion”? The answer is, “Nothin’ good.” So what do we do if we feel the flames of passion start to burn?
Paul uses fire as a metaphor for passion. Let’s follow the metaphor and see where it leads.
If a fire starts to burn and we don’t want a fire — for example, if a candle tips over and lights the curtain on fire — we throw water on it and call 911.
In the same way, if our passions burn inside us, we can metaphorically “throw water on it” by directing our attention to something else. Calling 911 is akin to calling out to God in prayer.
If we like the fire, there is a time and place for it. Just like we have places in our homes for a fire called a ‘fireplace,’ there is a place in life where passions are appropriate. God created marriage for exactly that purpose (Genesis 1:26-28, 2:22-24).
In medical terms, the proper time and place for passion is the antidote to passions that would otherwise burn out of control.
Application: Seek God’s time and place for everything.
Food for Thought: How does marriage protect us from the enemy’s slander?
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Continue reading “1 Timothy 5:14 – Antidote”
