Who do we help?

 

1 Timothy 5:9-16

In my pastoral experience, the more money available, the less people worry about details. When it's short, though, everyone wants to know how everything gets spent. Now, I'm not sure what the budget was, but there was a concern on how to take care of a particular group of people.  A widow is a widow if we say she's a widow. At least, that's how you can read the passage before us today. We take 1 Timothy to be an older pastor instructing a younger pastor how to lead his congregation. In previous chapters, it was important to rundown the qualities of who could be a bishop, an overseer of the church. Today's passage aims to secure an accurate listing of women who were truly widows. 1 Timothy 5 includes a section outlining who real widows were.  Whoever wrote the epistle wants to ensure only women with no access to care otherwise get included on the widow list. Even in a previous verse, the writer says, "Honor widows who are really widows" (5:3).  Apparently, there were many women claiming widow status. At one point, Roman law dictated all women (and men) between twenty and fifty years old marry. If they didn't, they were denied certain rights to inheritances. Were these women looking for the church's help because their government forced them? The church wanted to "assist those who are real widows." Not filtering who the widows were created a burden for the church. Sounds harsh, doesn't it? Unfortunately, today, our churches face the same kinds of decisions.  People often look to the church for all kinds of help. Hopefully, we are willing to help. Of course, we also have to determine how far our help will go. And how do we determine who is worthy to receive that help, whatever form of help it is? These can be tough conversations that need to be rooted in compassion and a desire to care for one another. How well does the church today take care of those who cannot take care of themselves?  Stay blessed...john