# 40 2019 Devotion, 1 Tim. 5,6:1-2. Welfare! Read all of chapter 5,6:1-2. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw Gremar and I closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.
1 Timothy 5:8 “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
In Chapter 5 Paul sends Timothy instruction on doing good deeds: taking care of widows, treating all people with respect and how to deal with church leaders.
From the beginning of his instruction, Paul gives Timothy excellent pastoral advice: “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers,2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.” Next Paul moves to taking care of widows, an important topic given that at that time, widows with no children or family quickly become destitute. Right from the beginning followers of Jesus took on the responsibility of taking care of people in need:
Acts 4:32-37 “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them.” These verses are hard to believe, however followers of Jesus still give today but we have lost much of the power, the wonder of the resurrection and the amazement of the salvation extended by Jesus.
In Acts 6 we read about the problems in the food distribution to widows, and is addressed by choosing deacons: “Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. “Today we have social services but deacons are still needed. Paul also addresses followers of Jesus who were slaves, today we apply that to all those who work for bosses, that covers a lot of people.
Today we are blessed to have help available from social services but what Paul writes in v. 8 still applies to us. We are responsible for our relatives and families.
Sometimes the cost for care is prohibitive or care needs to be professional but there are other physical and emotional care that may be necessary. Paul is very hard on those who reject their relatives or families, he writes: He or she “has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” I know from personal experience that when that “care” responsibility is rejected it causes much emotional and physical pain. We thank God for Biblical instruction. Amen!
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Heavenhigh 