ODJ: one big family
October 17, 2011
Never speak harshly to an older man, but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brothers (v.1).
READ: 1 Timothy 5:1-16
Malcolm is a 9-year-old boy who lives in a single- parent home. John is 80 and recently widowed. And then there’s Iris. She recently gave birth to a pair of twins, so now she’s the mother of five girls! Yes, my church is made up of many people with diverse backgrounds and needs. Ministering effectively to each person requires care and sensitivity.
Paul’s instructions to Timothy are particularly insightful in this matter. First, Paul told Timothy that the way you treat people is the result of how you view them (1 Timothy 5:1-2). If Timothy began viewing every older man in the congregation as a father, he would treat them with natural deference and respect. Paul urged an approach to ministry that values relationships, while being firm in encouraging what is right.
Second, Paul taught that the church shouldn’t indiscriminately help everyone. Practical need alone is insufficient grounds for receiving financial assistance from a local congregation (v.16). Similarly, there’s far more involved in Christian compassion than simply handing out money. The pattern presented by Paul in this passage is carefully structured ministry to the whole person. It encourages and facilitates godliness and a productive life, and it also guards against misuse and abuse that might endanger the church’s witness.
Upon learning the “family view,” I applied it. I started to see the younger men as my brothers and older women as my mothers. The slight mental adjustment has had a significant impact on the way I relate with fellow believers in Jesus. They’re not problems to fix, but people to love.
Let’s continue to look to God for wisdom in how to love one another in a way that encourages godliness and a productive life. After all, we’re one big family. —Poh Fang Chia
In what ways could you offer assistance or encouragement to someone in your church this coming week? How do you need to begin viewing others more as family and less as church members?
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