1 Timothy– Chapter Five V

by Ed Urzi

“But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God” (1 Timothy 5:4 ESV).

It appears there were some elderly widows within the church community at Ephesus who were struggling for their economic survival. This dire condition prompted the Apostle Paul to establish a set of parameters that would help those widows within the church who needed assistance.

The first step involved a delegation of responsibility beginning with an immediate family member such as a child or a grandchild. If no family members were available to help, the church would then step in to provide assistance according to the guidelines that Paul will offer in the following verses. While this approach was relatively simple in theory, it likely proved more challenging in practice.

For example, some widows might have preferred to approach the church for support rather than make their needs known to the members of their families. One Pastoral commentator highlights an important perspective in commenting upon that possibility…

“Sometimes people don’t want to ask their family for help, yet in God’s sight, He would rather that the family be the first place we go to for help. Some people are too proud to ask their family for help, but I wonder if sometimes our financial hardships are the very things that God wants to use to help repair families, to force them to work together and take care of each other.

This is what we are to ‘learn’ (vs. 4 ‘learn to show piety’) with our families – to take care of each other. I think it’s important that the church not short-circuit this kind of thing by stepping in and rescuing people when they need to learn to do things God’s way. Sometimes the embarrassment of asking the family is what a person needs to motivate them to take care of their own needs properly” (1)

So regardless of whether their preference was motivated by an internal family dynamic or some other reason, these instructions helped provide a clear directive to elderly widows (and others) regarding their primary and secondary means of care.

On the other hand, family members who were responsible to fulfill this obligation were not permitted to evade it by casting such responsibilities upon the church. We’ll see a Biblical example of how some attempted to shirk that responsibility (and Jesus’ response to their efforts) next.

(1) Rich Cathers, 1Timothy 5:1-16 [1:5] http://www.calvaryfullerton.org/Bstudy/54%201Ti/2018/54%201Ti%2005a.htm