But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. – 1 Timothy 5:4

Today's Scripture Reading (April 23, 2021): 1 Timothy 5

Actor Edward Albert argues that "the simple act of caring is heroic." And too often in our society, we seem to be very willing to give our responsibility for care to "someone else." We have busy lives, and caring for our elders is often hard to do. It costs money and time, commodities that are often in short supply. And so, the care falls to others who have more time or more ability for that care. We don't have time to be the heroes our parents and grandparents need. And it is not a new problem.

Paul gives instruction here for the caring of widows, but we need a little context for Paul's words. Paul is speaking to a patriarchal society and the reality, in his world, is that men that provided the family income, which meant that when a man died, it often left no support for this family. Widows often had to deal with significant obstacles just to live. They couldn't just "go to work" to support themselves and their family. And often, they couldn't marry, replacing their husband's stream of income. Therefore, they needed someone to come and be their heroes. And since the early days of Christianity, the church became one of the someone's, often trying to care for the widows' needs in their midst. It had become a huge job, made worse by the abdication of the responsibility to care for mothers and grandmothers by some of their families. It is important to note that Paul is not talking about elders who have specialized needs.

The problem required a response, and part of Paul's message is to define a widow here a little differently. According to Paul, a widow was not someone who has lost a spouse, but rather someone who was utterly alone, with no children or grandchildren who could be called on to support the parent. The church needed to be the heroes in the lives of these "widows" who were alone. But Paul wants Timothy to encourage the children and grandchildren to be the heroes in their parent's lives.

Paul stresses that caring for our parents is putting our faith into action. It is also repaying our parents for the many ways they cared for us when we needed them. But this instruction wasn't a "Christian" thing. It is simply what someone in society would do for their parents. By leaving elder care up to the church, the church's families were falling below the standard of those who lived outside of the church in the general society. And in Paul's mind, that was highly problematic. Newport J. D. White seems to sum up Paul's thoughts when he argues that "the Christian who falls below the best heathen standard of family affection is the more blameworthy, since he has, what the heathen has not, the supreme example of love in Jesus Christ." Whenever our love fails to measure up to the love exhibited to society, we have a problem. And it was a problem that Paul wanted to correct. He recognized the church's need for more family heroes.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 6