Hi guys,

Start of a new week, awesome that you are here again.

God bless with the Bible Study.

Here is the text:

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1 Timothy 5:13, “Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to.”

Interesting points:
1. In this verse Paul details three additional unintended problems of providing for the needs of young widows. All three speak to the condition of one’s hearts when the motivation to work is removed which not only impact one’s conduct, but also one’s testimony and others in and around church.

2. Unlike the elderly widow who has found a purpose in serving in the church, gained maturity and discretely turns to God in sorting through the difficulties in the lives of others, providing for the young widow -- who is perfectly capable of supporting herself -- breeds apathy and laziness, and a restlessness rooted in boredom. Dependent on church resources, the young widow becomes unmotivated to work hard and ceases being productive.

3. Her boredom naturally leads her to create and spread rumors and stories and then interjecting herself into situations where she is not welcome. Having lost her God-intended purpose, she floats listlessly through life looking for excitement/causing mischief by meddling in the affairs of others, creating a bad name for herself and the church that supports her directionless life.

Application.
Brothers, the expression “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop” catches the idea of this verse. As we observed Saturday, today’s churches do not have many young widows so Paul’s warning provides us another insight into correctly applying charity to those that have the ability to work: be very wary about removing the desire of those we help to improve their situation.

Charity is a wonderful attribute of the believer but when it is inappropriately applied, we end up fostering idleness, stifling creativity and dampening the desire in others to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and get busy with what the Lord intends for them to do.

As discernment is critical in properly allocating charity as more and more people lose income due to the economic impact of measures taken to halt the spread of the corona virus, we ought to carefully consider the second and third order effects in providing assistance. It may seem harsh or cruel to provide only part of what is needed to those that are impacted by the economic downturn, but it helps foster sharper minds, a willingness to / understanding of sacrifice and a greater appreciation for what God provides.
As with all decisions, the church and its leaders ought to pray, study the Word and listen to what the Holy Spirit reveals in each and every request for charity, assistance and intervention. Without the trials faced by such tough circumstances, we believers would not learn the life-lessons or develop the necessary character to fulfill God’s call on our lives.