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| Pastoral Letters Series |
1 Timothy 5:1-2 (ESV)
Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him
as you would a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers,
younger women as sisters, in all purity.
After a brief
encouragement to live as though the church is a family, Paul instructs Timothy
in how to care for the widows among them. The widows among them would have been
without the social assistance we have today. Without children or a husband,
they would be especially destitute. Paul encourages Timothy to judge each case
based on the need of the person asking for care. He tells him to encourage
people to go to their family first.
I always remember
when I read this just how different our society is today from that of the early
church. In Timothy's day, households, families, and culture all lived, worked,
and did business together and in small communities. Families shared together to
provide for each other and survive. I have gladly worked for people with disabilities
for over eleven years. Frequently I think of how our individualistic and
self-centred culture has left the most vulnerable on the edges of our culture
and communities. Communication technology increases how much we communicate,
but decreases our connection. We have more friends on facebook, but fewer
face-to-face. Families live across the nations from each other. We travel hours
at breakneck speed to and from work, but we don't know our neighbours.
It is right and good
that a church should have policies for who they will financially help and how.
Church member should give generously to their communities so that goods can be
distributed to those with need. But none of this should replace the real
relationships that meet our greatest needs. We are brothers and sisters. Those
seeking help from the church should receive more than a food basket or cheque.
What we really offer is family, belonging, a home. This starts with the
families that make up the church. We take care of each other.
1 Timothy 5:8 (ESV)
But if
anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his
household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
We should read this
verse remembering that Paul began the chapter by instructing us to treat each
other in the church as immediate family.
1 Timothy 5:17-18 (ESV)
17 Let the elders who rule well be considered
worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching.
18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the
grain”, and, “The labourer deserves his wages.”
Put simply, those
that preach and teach in the church should be paid for what they do, especially
those who put in as many hours as one would a job. Preaching and pastoring are
very hard work, and do take a lot of time. A healthy church has many people
sharing the load of pastoring, but it is not wrong for a church to have paid
staff that are supported by the community to do the work they do.
Paul continues about
elders by instructing Timothy in how to deal with accusations about them. His
advice is the same as Timothy's cultural tradition. Elders are to be accused of
wrongdoing based on two witnesses or more, just like anyone else. Elders are
people, too. Even if we follow the instructions for choosing elders based on
good character as 1 Timothy 3 says, elders can still fail. Let us learn to
discipline and restore well those in the church who have fallen. Let us not
abide injustice, but let us show much grace to those who fail. Let us forgive
and redeem. This demonstrates the gospel.
1 Timothy 5:22, 24-25 (ESV)
Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands,
nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. 24 The sins of some men are conspicuous,
going before them to judgement, but the sins of others appear later. 25 So also
good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.
Paul is reminding
Timothy here again to let people be tested before they take on ministry roles.
Take the time needed to know someone before giving them service roles in the
church. We're all on a journey.
I will end with the parenthetical
practical advice Paul inserts at the end of the chapter. I was, in fact, given
this advice when I first began preaching on a regular basis in 2002. At that
time, I was so nervous to speak in front of people that I would always throw up
before I began. My pastor suggested I have half a glass of wine an hour before
I next addressed the church. I did, and never threw up again. I often wonder
how close my situation matched the notoriously timid Timothy's, and whether
Paul's advice was for the same reason.
1 Timothy 5:22 (ESV)
(No longer drink only water, but use a little
wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.)
Read 1 Timothy 5
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