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Widows: A Call to Compassion and Discernment (1 Tim. 5:9-10)
9 No widow may be put on
the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her
husband, 10 and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people,
helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
It's interesting that there is
actually a list. Apparently, this isn't about meeting someone's needs once or
twice, but regularly. It's the family of God practicing the
"one-anothers" of the New Testament, to make sure that widows in need
aren't overlooked.
So, which widows should you be
helping?
The list began with truly being in
need, with no family support available.
Now, Paul continues the list:
That's quite a list!
Why over 60? Wasn't life expectancy
30 something? Well, it was actually not much different from us, with most
people living into their 70's and even 80's. The average life-span was much
lower, however, because there were so many who died when they were very young.
Psalm 90:10 refers to "three score and ten" as the expectation, and
since a score is 20, that would mean about 70 years.
Besides that, when a widow was
younger, there would be a much higher chance that she would remarry, and that
is the Biblical expectation. One of the reasons people married was to provide
for one another. The Kinsmen Redeemer concept (remember Ruth, Naomi, and
Boaz?) was God's plan of taking care of
each other, included our extended family.
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By Phil Routly9 No widow may be put on
the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her
husband, 10 and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people,
helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
It's interesting that there is
actually a list. Apparently, this isn't about meeting someone's needs once or
twice, but regularly. It's the family of God practicing the
"one-anothers" of the New Testament, to make sure that widows in need
aren't overlooked.
So, which widows should you be
helping?
The list began with truly being in
need, with no family support available.
Now, Paul continues the list:
That's quite a list!
Why over 60? Wasn't life expectancy
30 something? Well, it was actually not much different from us, with most
people living into their 70's and even 80's. The average life-span was much
lower, however, because there were so many who died when they were very young.
Psalm 90:10 refers to "three score and ten" as the expectation, and
since a score is 20, that would mean about 70 years.
Besides that, when a widow was
younger, there would be a much higher chance that she would remarry, and that
is the Biblical expectation. One of the reasons people married was to provide
for one another. The Kinsmen Redeemer concept (remember Ruth, Naomi, and
Boaz?) was God's plan of taking care of
each other, included our extended family.