Taken together then, not only do the words sound very
similar to that which is spoken of widows (“for some have already wandered away
to follow Satan”), but combined with the need to be well thought of by those
outside the faith, one can here sense a prohibition against being a gossip or a
busybody, about being lazy, and about going from house to house talking about
things they should not. There’s no reason to believe that this is somehow
the exclusive domain of women.
If this is what will give the adversary the opportunity to
vilify the church when such activities are undertaken by the widows (those
normally dismissed by the wider culture), how much more than when the overseers
of the meal table---the ones who would naturally be looked upon with as leaders
of the assembly by the surrounding world (though they do not hold a formal
position)---engage in the same. Concurrently, one can notice that the same
words are not applied to deacons.
This is understandable, because as table servants they would
not be accorded the same type of respect by those outside the church as would
the meal overseer, though those who serve are accorded the highest honor within
the church. Such is the nature of Paul’s witness to the church, as he
always has his eye on the church’s interaction with the culture and its need to
be a counter-balance to the stifling of true humanity that takes place in the
cultures that do not bow the knee to the Lordship of Jesus.
Finally, rounding out
his words for Timothy and the church in regards to widows, having given this
group a seemingly inordinate amount of attention, Paul writes “If a believing
woman has widows in her family, let her help them. The church should not
be burdened, so that it may help the widows who are truly in need” (1 Timothy 5:16).
While Paul’s words clearly operate at a level that allows the church for all
time to ascertain direction and ideals, one can’t help but believe that Paul
has some specific people in mind here as he writes.
There is little
reason to think otherwise, and there is even less reason---considering the fact
that Paul is dealing with specific situations that have arisen in the church
letters---to imagine that Paul is suggesting guidelines to be applied to the
church universally and for all time. What should get a reader’s attention,
when considering how to apply these words of Paul, are the counter-cultural
elements and the implications for service within the church and the church’s
interaction with the world.
One stumbles
dangerously into anachronisms when losing sight of the fact that Paul writes to
real people, in real churches, at a definite time in history, dealing with real
and pressing situations as the church sought to find its way in representing
the kingdom of the Creator God while standing against the forces, though
defeated by the cross and by the Resurrection, that sought to infiltrate and
destroy the people of that God---attempting to destroy the church’s ability to
stand as witness to its sovereign Lord.
When taking the honor
and shame competition of the day into consideration, while also considering the
possibility that in all of this talk (concerning overseers, deacons, and
widows), Paul has certain problematic individuals in view, one can move
helpfully away from reading this letter solely as some tractate concerning
church discipline, and instead read it as a clarion call to a church, through
the apostle’s emissary, to continue to align itself with kingdom ideals,
seeking the way of the cross and of shame, as all honor continues to accrue to
Jesus.
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