1 Timothy 5:11a – Age Limit

As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list.

Summary: In this passage, Paul gives Timothy and subsequent church leaders a specific instruction related to the ‘widow’s list.’   

Looking back at verse nine, we find Paul’s age limit for the “Widow’s list.” Only widows “over sixty” need apply. 

Widows who are sixty and under fall into a different category. 

Is Paul being unreasonable? If Paul is relaying a rule from God, as I believe, is God being unreasonable? 

Interestingly, there are several examples of God assigning certain ages for specific situations. Most notable is the lifespan of man. 

In the early years of mankind, it was not uncommon for people to live extremely long lives. Genesis, Chapter Five, records the ages of Adam and his descendants down to Noah. All of these men, except for Enoch, lived at least seven centuries, and most lived well into their ninth century. 

When evil began to proliferate among men, God set a limit on the age of a man’s lifetime:

“Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.’” (Genesis 6:3)

Later, Leviticus records God setting values on people according to their age and gender for the purposes of dedicating a person to the Lord (Leviticus 27:1-8). In this case, sixty years old was also a dividing point. Those sixty years or older were valued less than those younger. Put another way, those under sixty were considered full value, those sixty and over were half value. 

Perhaps the reasoning is the same here. Widows sixty and under are considered “full value.” Widows over sixty years of age are not expected to be able to do as much. 

In the next few verses, Paul goes into detail about why this age restriction for the “widow’s list” is important, but for now, it is enough to state his instruction plainly: “As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list.”

Application: Even if we don’t fully understand a biblical instruction, we should consider following the principles we find in the Bible.  

Food for Thought: How does our human nature react to being told what to do? 

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