Widows Again

          No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds. 

          As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to. So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan. (I Timothy 5:9-14)

          We must begin today’s thoughts with a reminder that Paul lived in a different culture. What he says sounds difficult and unpleasant to us. Telling a younger widow to “go get married” as the solution to her problems? Isn’t that telling them to be gold-diggers? In our culture, we like to pretend that the best reason to get married is “love,” by which we mean the sensual desires Paul mentions.

          This falls into the pattern I mentioned yesterday. Paul is being consistent. Widows who have a chance to solve their problems at a personal level should. From yesterday’s passage, those who can’t remarry are to seek help from their families. For those who don’t have options in those directions, Paul calls on the Church, with the provision that these women have lived consistently with the teachings of the Church.

          While we might like to claim that no one has a right to tell us how to live, we live in a society in which employers tell us how to dress, and clauses about behavior are written into contracts. This does not mean that the Church can’t or shouldn’t help those who don’t follow its rules, but it does mean that those taken in by the Church are obligated to behave in a way that doesn’t reflect negatively on the Church.