The Coming Winter

Honor widows who are really widows (1 Timothy 5:3).

The structure of 1 Timothy 5 is interesting and appears to include the literary device of an inclusio. The chapter begins with the charge for Timothy to not only personally honor the elders of the church, but to encourage this as a cultural phenomenon within the church at Ephesus. Paul would then include within the two bookends of honor, a discussion on widows. Paul would illustrate the contrasting means of dishonoring an elder as behaviors to be avoided in the church. This discussion on elders comes subsequent to him defining the qualifications and roles of elders in the church. Paul gives much needed attention to elders of both genders as their roles are critical in the functioning dynamics of any local church. A structure for 1 Timothy 5 could be as follows,

I. Honor the Family of God (5:1-2)

II. Honor Widows with Care (5:3-16)

III. Honor Elders with Wages (5:17-20)

IV. Honor the Pastor through Impartiality (5:21-25)

V. Honor Masters with Obedience (6:1-2)

As honor is the main thrust of Paul’s writings, it would behoove us to explore this more fully as honor is being systematically removed from our society and in many church cultures in the name of false humility. That is, many behave in a way that explicates honor as being antithetical to humility. That one must hold another humble by refraining from honoring such a one. Honor (τιμάω) has two connotations. One being the intuitive and modern sense which is to revere or venerate. The other is less intuitive to our modern senses, and this is to fix a value upon or appraise as valuable.

On one hand, the object of honor is being revered either personally or publicly and likely a combination of both. On the other hand, a value is also being affixed to the object of τιμάω. Perhaps this is why Paul would later cite Christ in his quote that a worker is worthy of his wages (cf. 1 Timothy 5:18). A deeper question for our culture could be, have we lost the concept of honor in the family of God? Paul opens his discourse by describing the church as a family. There are fathers and mothers of the faith. There are also brothers and sisters in the faith and the culture is one of honoring one another!

He then transitions to the honor of widows and will go through specific pains to define what a true widow is. The widow is desolate, having served a husband until his death. She is one who prays and fasts at the temple. She washes the saints feet, she has helped the afflicted. The widow is more than the wife of a deceased husband. She is one of character, service, devotion, and love! The widow deserves honor and that honor being the affixed price of provision for her desolation. She is one either without family or estranged from family. She has no sons or daughters to care for her. She has no husband to provide for her. Her husband is Christ, and to Him she turns for her shelter and refuge. The church becomes her home. Her wisdom is her labor, her prayers are her employment, the sacraments become her diet. She is a widow who is married to Christ in simple and yet fervent devotion.

Anna is the widow par exemplar of the New Testament (cf. Luke 2:36-38). The daughter of Phanuel had a husband for only seven years, and thereafter committed herself to fasting and prayer. Her devotion was relentless. She was rewarded to see the Christ child, and after giving thanks, evangelized the good news to all who would hear. The widow must be disciplined in prayer, for the temptation of gossip is looming large in the widow who either despises her honor or who leaves the office to engage in the reproach of Satan through the medium of idle gossip. Anna was honored by serving as a legacy to all widows who aspire not to remarry but to wholly devote themselves to acts of service.

C. S. Lewis attempts to tackle the thorny issue of glory or honor in his sermon, “The Weight of Glory.” Something he says brought to light the nature of honor, often lost in the post-modern church.

But not fame conferred by our fellow creatures—fame with God, approval or (I might say) "appreciation" by God.

To honor the elder, the widow, or the master - we do not necessarily honor their works, accomplishments, or character with our own estimations, as if we could provide such an enduring honor. Rather, we honor what God honors in that elder, widow, or master. We appreciate what God has appreciated. We reiterate the accolade, “thou good and faithful servant…” We cannot offer any higher praise, honor, esteem, or laud than the divine appreciation of heaven. But this then requires the prophetic at work among the body of Christ. How can we know the mind of Christ concerning any one person or office, unless the Spirit of God has spoken?

First, we must recognize that divine Scripture has already brought honor to the office of an elder, the office of a widow, and the office of a master (i.e. leader). These offices require our honor because divine revelation has procured such. This is immutable. Now, what we say and how we behave towards these offices can take on the creative liberty of the Spirit as we emulate honor already conferred by the Lord Himself. We must reclaim honor in our faithful communities by first recognizing and discerning how God honors His servants. Without this recognition, we will fall into empty and shallow accolades that feel more like pretense than honor.