Widows In The Church

I Timothy 5:3-8

I must confess, some of my favorite people in the churches I have been in have always been the widows. It wasn't because of some deep commitment to the passage for today. There just seems to be something special about that group of Christians. I attended Lone Oak Baptist Church in Plant City, Florida for a year. When I arrived, it was the widows that welcomed me into the church. I sat with them for quite a while before joining the other college and career students. I do not envy them for being widows, but I do admire them when they live this burden with grace.

I don't know if you have ever noticed, but there are a lot of widows in the Bible. The word "widow" is in the Bible 89 times. It first appears in Genesis 38:11. The last time it appears in the Bible is Revelation 18:7. It seems to me that widows are important to God. If that is true, and it is, then we should want to know what His expectations concerning our treatment of widows is.

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“Honor widows who are really widows. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God. Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. And these things command, that they may be blameless. But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

I Timothy 5:3-8

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In the Book of James, we are told that we should not esteem the rich over the poor (James 2:1-13). However, here Paul is telling Timothy to honor, or place value on "widows who are really widows". It could be said that we should treasure these women, at least if they meet the qualifications of a true widow. So what is a true widow?

Paul goes on to tell us that a widow who has children or grandchildren are not the responsibility of the church. Their families are supposed to care for them. This means that the honor Paul is describing to Timothy is more than emotional sentiment. Remember in verse 2, Paul told Timothy that elder women are to be viewed as mothers. If a widow does not have family to help care for her, then the church should care for her like their own mother. If she has family, then the commandment for children to "honor our father and mother" applies to them first (Ephesians 6:2).

In verse 5, Paul tells Timothy that these must be widows who have remained faithful to God and the church. The church is under no obligation if she abandoned the faith to pursue worldly desires (v. 6). Another way of saying this is her faith shouldn't have died with her husband. If that is the case, then her faith wasn't really hers at all. It was her husband‘s faith all along. However, if they are "blameless", doing that which Timothy is commanded to teach (v. 7), then the church is to honor them like their own mothers.

Verse 8 is a warning to families who do not care for their matriarchs. Paul said that those who do not care for their widow mothers or grandmothers have abandoned the faith. They are no longer living like Christians in Godliness and righteousness. Paul also said that they are worse than unbelievers. Those individuals are worse than the pagan heathens because they know the truth of God's Word and reject it for their own selfish desires. In rejecting the care of their mothers and grandmothers, they are rejecting God.

A final thought, while not stated explicitly in the Bible, it is the common position of theologians that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a widow during his ministry. One of the strongest arguments in favor of this is because Jesus provided for her care when he was hanging on the cross. He commended her care to John and told him to care for her like his own mother (John 19:26). He told Mary to look to John just like she had looked to him. He set the example for us to follow.

Father, this world is often cruel to widows. Thank You for being a God of compassion and love. You care for those who are looked down upon by a Godless world. Help us to not be like those around us, but to be obedient to You and to care for widows. They are near and dear to Your heart, let them be the same to ours.