Rev. David Holwick K 1 Timothy - Clean Up the Church, #11
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
March 21, 2010
1 Timothy 5:1-16
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I. It's hard to be alone.
A. And harder in some places than others.
A CNN report two years ago told the story of Promita Das, who
lives in India.
At the age of 12 she married.
At 14, she had a baby.
At 15, both her husband and child died.
For 70 years she has been a widow.
In India, widows are the poorest of the poor.
Society shuns them when their husbands die, not for religious
reasons, but because of tradition -- and because they're
seen as a financial drain on their families.
"Does it feel good?" says 70-year-old Rada Rani Biswas.
"Now I have to loiter just for a bite to eat."
When her husband of 50 years died, she was instantly ostracized
by all those she thought loved her, including her son.
"My son tells me: 'You have grown old.
Now who is going to feed you? Go away.'"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"What do I do? My pain had no limit."
Widows in India cannot remarry.
They must not wear jewelry.
They are forced to shave their heads and typically wear white.
Even their shadows are considered bad luck.
They are not invited to weddings because it might put a curse
on the young couple.
Hindus have long believed that death in the town of Vrindavan
will free them from the cycle of life and death.
Thousands of widows have flocked to the town, hoping that death
will save them from being condemned to such a life again.
They are reduced to begging in front of temples, looking for
some scraps of food.
#24741
B. Christianity has taken a different approach.
1) Following Jewish traditions, Christians have sought to
protect and honor widows.
2) Rather than being shoved aside, they can play a special
role, especially in the life of the church.
C. Paul lays much of the foundation.
1) He gives practical instructions about how to care for
those who have nowhere else to turn.
2) This passage deals with more than just widows.
3) It is about how the church needs to keep all the age groups
working together so Christ is honored.
II. We have a responsibility across generations.
A. Show respect. 5:1
1) Just as Timothy should not be looked down on because he
is young, he should not abuse his authority with the old.
2) Rebuke them when necessary, but do it with respect.
B. Every relationship should be treated as you would family. 5:2
1) Especially important when dealing with young women.
2) The false teachers had problems in this area, and
so Timothy must be especially careful.
My sister Kristy called from Germany last night.
She was upset because the chaplain at the military
church they attend had separated from his wife.
Apparently he met someone new on the internet.
For over a year he had broken off a relationship with his
wife but they still lived in the same house and kept up
appearances.
Mind you, this is a couple that met at Moody Bible
Institute.
He now wants a divorce and is angling to give his wife
nothing - he won't he pay to ship her car back to
the United States.
Kristy saw her at a store and noticed she was crying.
At the end of today's passage, Paul says we shouldn't
give the enemy opportunities to slander the gospel.
What do you think the military community around that
chapel is saying about Christianity right now?
The church is supposed to be a special kind of family.
Be sure and treat each other that way.
III. Our responsibility includes practical care.
A. The church has helped out its own from the beginning.
1) The early church gave daily aid to the needy elderly.
a) Acts 6 and food rations for widows.
b) Example of Tabitha (Dorcas) who made clothes for
poor widows. Acts 9:36-39
2) A danger to consider - aid sometimes led to loose living.
a) Paul's emphasis on helping appropriate widows highlights
the inappropriate actions of some young widows.
1> They had been living for pleasure. 5:6
2> They made pests of themselves. 5:13
3> They brought shame on the church and Christ. 5:14
b) Many believe these young widows were the "weak-willed
women" preyed upon by the false teachers in 2 Tim 3:6.
3) We must always be aware of human frailties.
a) This is why Paul makes distinctions throughout
this passage, which can be confusing.
1> Widows who have dire needs and no family to
help (he calls them "real widows"). 5:3
A> God and the church are their only hope. 5:5
B> Since this is the only category who gets
aid, he gives exact requirements. 5:9
2> Widows who have needs, but there is family
to take care of them. 5:4
3> Widows who are young and can start a new life.
B. Our own families must be the primary caregivers.
1) True religion is taking care of your own kin.
a) Verse 4 - caring for elderly parents is putting your
religion into practice.
1> It is payback for all they have done for us.
2> This is the idea behind the fifth commandment,
honor your parents.
b) You look bad if you don't.
1> Verse 8 - it makes you worse than an unbeliever.
2> The assumption is that even pagans look after their
mom and dad.
3> How much more should believers?
IV. Modern Christians face a different situation.
A. Our families have changed.
1) There are fewer children to take care of elderly parents.
2) Most middle-aged people, male and female, have jobs.
3) We tend to be spread out over the country.
4) Many families are unstable to begin with.
5) Therefore we let society handle some of these issues.
B. Society has come up with a range of care options.
1) Social Security and Medicare.
2) Pensions and retirement funds that the ancient world
did not have.
3) Assisted living facilities.
4) Nursing homes.
5) Even Meals-on-Wheels and Dial-A-Ride.
C. If we have the ability, we should help.
1) Society's programs do not take away our own responsibility.
a) Florida and "granny-dumping."
b) It may be wise to choose a nursing home, but we can
still visit and call.
2) Keep the human connection between generations.
a) We can learn from them.
b) We must love them.
V. The elderly have an important role.
A. Paul saw the elderly are not just recipients, but givers.
1) His aid program was really a service program.
a) They received support, then they went out and
ministered to the church community.
2) In later years, this developed into orders of nuns.
a) A famous example is "The Sound of Music."
b) Ironically, Paul would say Maria was too young to join!
B. Our own church has a group called the Golden Girls.
1) They visit the sick and shut-ins on a weekly basis.
a) John Osborne gave them their nickname.
2) While the world often mocks "church ladies," these women
show true Christian grace.
a) They fellowship regularly over meals and dominoes.
b) They have aches and pains and canes, but they don't
fixate on them.
c) They faithfully attend Bible studies at the church.
d) They show God's grace and love in everything they do.
C. How will you grow old?
Christian author Tim Stafford writes:
The Bible treats old age as a blessing.
The meaning of life is to glorify God, to love and to pray,
and the elderly can do this as well as anyone.
God doesn't make mistakes.
He intends people to grow old, if only so that they can learn
what life is, and what life is not.
Old ages teaches that life is not doing things, even great
things for God.
Life is not activity and good looks.
Life is not a Bell curve, but a continuous climb toward
heaven.
One old person put it, "They say we are going downhill, but
they have it wrong. It is uphill.
That's why it is such hard work!" #4084
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 4084 "The Old-age Heresy," by Tim Stafford, Christianity Today magazine,
September 16, 1991, p. 30.
#24741 "India's Ostrasized Widows," CNN.com, July 5, 2007.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
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