“If a woman who is a believer has relatives who are widows, she must take care of them and not put the responsibility on the church. Then the church can care for the widows who are truly alone.” 1 Timothy 5:16 NLT
You have heard it said, ‘the church is a family’ and that it is. We have families within the church so we have families within a family, sounds confusing. Then there are some people who view the church as their only family and that is true as well. When it comes to helping those in need within the church family where does the responsibility lie. It lies with every true child of God to see to it that proper care is being administered through the guidance found in scripture.
In last week’s devotional entitled ‘True Faith’ we noted Paul saying that ‘those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.’ (1 Tim.5:8 nlt) All Christians are responsible to care for their family, especially their immediate family. The church as a family has an obligation to care for its family members but not quite in the same way. Paul gives us an example of this concerning widows in the church. He addresses women in the church who have relatives who are widows to care for them. This could also be said of men in the church. Widows who have families able to provide for them should be under their care. The church then is able to better provide for those widows whose only family is the church.
When the church as a family follows the teaching of scripture in all areas of life, we can better serve our individual families and our church family. The church as a family will be able to also care for needs of those in the community in which we live. This is something our Lord wants us to do. “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” (Mt.25:37-40 nlt)
Word for the Soul 