Text: 1 Timothy 5-6:2
Treating people in the Church.
Older Men – Do not rebuke harshly. Treat them as fathers. We already know that older men are quite sensitive and emotional in various ways. We are to treat them like a father. It doesn’t mean that we cannot rebuke them. In fact we can, but we are to do it gently and in a good way.
Younger Men – Treat younger men as brothers. They may not be your brothers by blood but often times, younger men can be more than your brothers in blood when it comes to care and love.
Older Women – Treat as mothers. Older women often times have done a great work in the Church. They have been a great blessing in the Church.
Younger Women – Treat them as sisters.
Treating the widows
The first thing Paul discussed is identifying the widows who are really in need.
- Someone who who has no one left. She has no children or relatives who can take care of her.
- She must be over 60 years old.
- She must have been faithful to her husband.
- She must be known for her good deeds, like being a good mother, hospitable, helpful, washing the Apostle’s feet.
The second thing that we can note here is that younger widows should not be allowed on this list. Paul may be a little bit harsh here in our perspective but this was the norm in their culture before. Not that widows are not allowed to remarry, we have remember that women during their time has a very limited social empowerment.
If any believer woman has a widow in the family, let her take care of her and not the church.
Treating Elders
Elders are expected to manage the affairs of the church well. Doing so qualifies them for double honor. The double honor that is being tackled here is most likely the support of the Church to the Elder. Paul quoted here a saying from the Old Testament “Do not muzzle an Ox while treading the grain.”
Accusation to Elders should be entertained only if it brought by two or three witnesses. As per rule since the dawn of the first Christian Church accusation against an Elder / Overseer / Pastor should only be entertained if there are two or three witnesses. The point of Paul here is that, there may be lot of invalid accusations that the office will receive because the devil is very crafty. However, only the grave ones and the things that will deeply affect the Church are the ones considered valid and should be confirmed by witnesses.
Sinning Elders are to be rebuked publicly. The Elder being accused or have been proven to be sinning or have sinned, shall be rebuked publicly. Please do note that this is in the context of grave misconduct and by understanding the rule of 2 or three witnesses.
This is why it is really shameful to be gravely sinning if you are an Elder and such grave accusations are proven to be true. The penalty is heavier than ordinary member. But this does not mean we will undermine the work of an Elder. They have been given a huge task:
On the side of the Elder this is what is expected.
Keep the instructions without partiality – It is about dealing with the instructions given above. We also have to know that most of the ministries that we do are relational by nature. One should keep impartiality like that of a good father to his children to avoid favoritism.
Not to be quick on laying hands – Again, spiritual maturity does matter on leadership. A good leader should be in good standing spiritually
Keeping oneself pure – Avoid any kind of impurities. It does not mean that you will have to be perfect, but always strive for righteousness.
Taking care of health – Paul mentioned here about taking a little wine for health purposes. Here we can see that Timothy may have some stomach problems.
Living in good deeds – Always live in good deeds. This should be something that comes out naturally as Elders / Overseers / Pastors.
On the Side of Slaves
They are to treat their masters with full respect. Granted that one has a master who is unbeliever, one should be treating his mater with full respect. As Paul said, so that Christians will not be slandered.
Serve believing masters even better. For those who have a believer masters, we are all the more to serve them better because they are also our brothers in the Lord. They are also presumed to be devoted in the welfare of fellow believers.
Challenge:
- How are we doing in dealing with other people in the Church?
- Why do you think it is important to identify people who are “really” in need in the Church?
- Why do you think these guidelines of treating people in the Church is important?
