Providing for your Family

(1 Timothy 5:3-8 – Providing for your family)

The scripture I am looking at today is all about providing for your family. Christianity sometimes separates families as non-believers do not accept the faith of believers. But that does not mean we reject them.

Even if members of our family reject the Lord, we must still provide for them because Jesus calls families. We don’t know whether He has His hand on them and they are watching us as believers before deciding to accept the Lord.

And even if they do not accept the Lord ever, it is still necessary for us as Christians to be providing for your family.

What the scripture says about providing for your family

This is what today’s scripture says:

3 Honor widows who are real widows. 4 If a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn their religious duty to their own family and make some return to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God. 5 She who is a real widow, and is left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day; 6 whereas she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. 7 Command this, so that they may be without reproach. 8 If any one does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his own family, he has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 5:3-8)

The last verse in this section really shows us the importance of providing for your family.

Paul equates a failure in this matter to disowning the faith and being worse than an unbeliever.

If we consider the first part of this section about widows. He says that the family of widows, be they children or grandchildren need to provide for those widows. This equates strongly with the fifth of the Ten Commandments that says:

Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you (Exodus 20:12)

God has put a requirement into the Ten Commandments that children are to honour, listen to, and look up to their parents. And He gave that commandment with a promise. He promised that if we will do this as children, then our “…days may be long in the land.”

We also see how serious the Lord is about this commandment to honour our parents, and by extension our grandparents too. In the law He added this curse against those who do not honour their parents.

‘Cursed be he who dishonours his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen’ (Deuteronomy 27:16)

And again, Jesus emphasised the importance of providing for your family, and especially the honouring of your parents.

For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.’ (Matthew 15:4)

So, the necessity to provide for the members of your family, and especially parents, is quite a serious matter in the eyes of the Lord. In the context of this scripture today, those who are widows who have family should be honoured and looked after by their children and grandchildren if they have any.

You cannot substitute Christian works instead of providing for your family

There are many people who go to work in missions or do other Christian works. These often take them away from families.

Now while these are worthy things to do, if they are done in the place of supporting family, or if they are done instead of supporting family then you are not providing for your family. It is clear that in the Lord’s point of view, supporting your family has a higher priority than doing other works.

If I take that last scripture quoted in it’s full context we see how critical this is.

1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If any one tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honor his father.’ 6 So, for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8 ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’” (Matthew 15:1-9)

Jesus chastised the Pharisees because they thought it was better to work for God than providing for your family. The Pharisees were putting human traditions above the words of God. It may be an admirable thing to do a work for the Lord, but if it replaces the commandment of God to care for your family, then it is an empty gesture. And the work will not be accepted by the Lord.

Providing for your family in accordance with the requirements of the Lord takes precedence even over working for the Lord.

Providing for your family who are real widows

As we read through the scripture in 1 Timothy 5, it draws a line between those widows who have family and those who don’t.

A “real” widow is one who has no family and is effectively left alone. We should remember also that when these words were written there was no social security and no government means of support for the aged or infirm.

That is probably still the case today in some parts of the world.

So, those who are “real” widows are to be supported by the church. They are part of the family of God, and those who have no blood family are to be looked after by the family of God.

This is especially the case where they have provided service and value to the church in different ways and continues in service to the Lord in prayer. They deserve the support of the church because they have no other means of support. Where they have supported the church, it is an obligation on the church to support them in their time of need.

When we follow the pattern outlined in this scripture, there is balance and there is peace with the Lord. We are following His directions and truly acting in a Christian manner. Providing for your family in a physical sense is the right thing to do. Providing for your Christian family becomes the right thing to do when they have no physical family.

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