“Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully” (1 Timothy 5:14).
Paul the Apostle’s counsel regarding remarriage here in 1 Timothy 5:14 seems to run counter to a statement he made in the Biblical book of 1 Corinthians…
“A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 7:39-40 ESV).
While these directives may appear to contradict one another, it’s important to consider the context for each message. For instance, 1 Timothy 5:3-16 addresses the role of the church in assisting older widows who had no other means of support. That portion of Scripture established several parameters that served to determine when it was appropriate to render such assistance.
Some of those factors included a widow’s age (sixty years or older according to 1 Timothy 5:9), her general character, and the presence of other family members who could help. Paul then went on to differentiate those widows from others who were younger and might seek to remarry after the loss of a husband.
There were two important considerations regarding these younger widows. As mentioned earlier, Paul was concerned that their desire to enter another marriage relationship might eventually grow stronger than their devotion to Christ. He then identified another potential risk: the danger associated with too much idle time (see 1 Timothy 5:11-13).
That brings us to Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church. Singleness was the preferred option for those who could accept it. For those who could not do so without falling prey to unhealthy choices (like the younger widows within the church at Ephesus), 1 Timothy 5:14 provided encouragement to remarry.
Finally, one author directs our attention to the latter portion of this verse and its admonition “…to give the enemy no opportunity for slander” (NIV)…
“Here we have another example of one of the main thoughts of the Pastoral Epistles. They are always concerned with how the Christian appears to the outside world. Does he give opportunity to criticize the Church or reason to admire it? It is always true that ‘the greatest handicap the Church has is the unsatisfactory lives of professing Christians’ and equally true that the greatest argument for Christianity is a genuinely Christian life.” (1)
(1) Barclay, William. “The Perils Of Idleness (1 Timothy 5:11-16)”. “William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible“. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dsb/1-timothy-5.html. 1956-1959.