Honor Your Widows (1 Timothy 5:3-4)

Honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. (1 Timothy 5:3-4)

Pastor, honoring widows is an important part of your assignment. This means to see and treat them as valuable. To give them proper priority, attention, and care.

For many of our pastors, this is a challenge. There’s only so much time in a week and they’d rather focus on preaching and teaching. I find this to be true especially among our younger pastors.

But consider the fact that this section about caring for widows takes up roughly 12% of 1 Timothy. That’s about the same about as the elder and deacon qualifications. It’s the longest uninterrupted treatment of any subject in the whole letter. It’s important.

For other pastors, caring for widows and the vulnerable in the church is the most natural thing in the world. They’d rather visit five nursing homes than study to preach. But this doesn’t strike the right balance either.

Look back at the verse. Not all supposed widows are “truly widows.” Not everyone who demands this kind of attention should receive it. Verses five through sixteen clarify this, and we’ll focus on those in future devotions. For now, just notice that it takes discernment to do this well.

Part of that discernment includes working with widows’ families. Being a good pastor does not mean directly taking care of every need for every needy person in your church. Often it means directing children and grandchildren to be more attentive to their relatives.

When it comes to caring for the most vulnerable people, God has a good system set up and it starts with the family. Don’t preempt them with your pastoral care. Work with God’s system, not against it.

So, do a quick mental scan of your church family. 

• Who are the widows and other vulnerable people God has entrusted into your care?
• Are you honoring them?
• Are you caring for them with discernment?
• Are you working with their families as much as possible?

Make sure you don’t forget about your widows. Properly honoring them “is pleasing in the sight of God.”