Hi guys,

Verse 8 of 1 Timothy 5 today. Some more lessons from Paul again.

Here you can find the text I'm reading.

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1 Timothy 5:8, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Interesting points:
1. In this verse Paul turns to the responsibility of individuals in caring for widows in their extended family and/or relatives. The same principles apply in determining whether and how to support widows in the family and not pass their responsibility on to the church. Obviously, those widows who do not pass the church’s criteria for support should not expect their families to do so either. For example, the pleasure-seeker should not expect her family to support her hedonistic lifestyle.

2. While it may not be possible for one person to care for every applicable relative, even unbelievers understand that a child's responsibility is to care for his widowed mother, especially if she cannot make ends meet.

3. As Jesus commanded His believers to love one another (John 15:12) and underlined that those who love Him should follow His commands (John 14:15), a person cannot claim to be committed to following Christ when he chooses not to care for their own families. Oftentimes this calls for tough love, especially when their actions (abuse, self-indulgence, entitlement, etc.) inflict harm on themselves and those they love. The operative word in caring for our families is love: cold and callous actions towards our family tarnish the name of Jesus and stain our character.

Application.
Brothers, this verse reminds us that we have a responsibility to demonstrate God’s love in caring for the needy widows in our families and not pass them off onto the church.

As it is located in the section concerning widows, we ought to be discerning in applying this verse to other family members (siblings, cousins, etc.), especially when the criteria Paul spells out has not been met. As love is the operative concept, we ought to seek God’s wisdom in handling such cases, especially in when tough love is required to get our relatives back on track in their faith and in life.