Paul desired
for Timothy his “son in the faith” to be a good pastor and
overseer with all the people who attended the church in Ephesus. For
this reason, “widows” who were “widows indeed”
were to be attended to by Timothy and the church, and Timothy was to
determine whether “widows” were “widows indeed”
by their “trust in God, and continuance in supplications and
prayers night and day”. In chapter five and verse six of his
letter, Paul shares the condition of a “widow” who “lives
in pleasure” where we read:
But she
that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.
The
verse begins, “But she that lives in pleasure...” Paul
began with the word, “But”
which is a disassociation conjunction and means what is about to be
stated takes precedence over what was previously written, and then
wrote, “she that lives in pleasure”
which is all one Greek word “spataleo” and means “one who lives
luxuriously, leads a voluptuous life, and gives herself to
pleasure”. In contrast to the widow who “trusts in God,
continues in supplications and prayers night and day”
this widow lives primarily for herself in a voluptuous, self-pleasing
and luxurious lifestyle.
The verse goes
on to say, “... is dead while she lives.” Paul
went on to add more concerning the widow who lives voluptuously and
luxuriously as he wrote she, “is dead”
which literally means “to die or be dead” and refers to when one
is “dead spiritually” “while she lives” or
“during the time she is breathing, acting and passing through
life”. Though she may appear to be “living the life” and
flaunting her lifestyle before others, Paul said she is actually
“spiritually dead” to the things of God.
As
we think through these words of Paul, we may have women come to our
minds who have live in each of these contrasting ways. There are
widows who have devoted the rest of their lives to trusting in the
Lord while making supplications and prayers day and night such as
“Anna” who was
mentioned in the gospel of Luke in chapter two and verse thirty six
and thirty seven, and there are those who lived primarily for
themselves in luxury and voluptuous living. The difference is whether
the “widow” lives
for “temporal” or “eternal” things. Though the luxuriously
living “widow” may
appear to be having the luxurious life, it is really the “widow”
who concerns herself with Godly activities who is truly rich. Paul
knew these traits would help Timothy determine which “widows”
needed to be cared for by the church, and by the grace of the Lord
Jesus, they should help us to know more about the spiritual condition
of those who have become “widows”
in this world.
Next
time Paul tells Timothy to “give these things in charge”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the
daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to
Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”,
and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in
all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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