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The Care of Widows on the Part of the Congregation.
v. 9. Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,
v. 10. well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.
v. 11. But the younger widows refuse; for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;
v. 12. having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.
v. 13. And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
v. 14. I will, therefore, that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
v. 15. For some are already turned aside after Satan.
v. 16. if any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged, that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.
Having given his definition of a widow that is in need and actually forsaken, he now proceeds to show in what manner the congregation should make arrangements for the support of the true widows: A widow should not be entered in the list (of dependents) unless she has reached the age of sixty, (having been) the wife of one man. It seems that the incident related in Act_6:1-15 caused the various Christian congregations to prepare a list of such widows as were entitled to the support of the congregation. It is with reference to this list that St. Paul makes the rule, placing the age of widows to be supported at sixty years, not less, this being the age at which they probably would no longer be able to support themselves. But Paul names also other requisites. First of all, she must have been the wife of one man, that is, her married life must have been unattended by any scandal; she must have been a faithful wife to the husband with whom she had been joined in wedlock.
But the apostle has also other conditions: Well-spoken of for good works, if she have brought up children, if she have been hospitable, if she have washed the feet of saints, if she have brought relief to distressed (people), if she have diligently followed every good work. St. Paul demanded that widows that were to be maintained at the expense of the congregation should be well reported, well-spoken of, have an excellent reputation so far as good works are concerned. He wanted the names of only such women in the lists as were generally known to be women of a good moral, of a strictly Christian character. Their sphere of activity was to be that of good works. The apostle offers some suggestions as to the manner in which an investigation as to the fitness of a candidate might be conducted. Did she bring up her children, if God granted her any, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Did she show a heart full of merciful love toward strangers? Was she willing to show hospitality to some poor sojourning Christian brother? Was she ready to show the saints that entered her home special acts of kindness and courtesy which custom demanded, which gave evidence of her unselfish humility? Was she ready to bring relief in word and deed to such as were in distress? Was it her constant endeavor to be of assistance in any case of trouble according to ability? Was she always zealous and interested in every good work? Did she, in other words, devote her entire life to the service of her neighbor, giving evidence of the faith of her heart in unselfish love? If these and similar points could be established by a tactful investigation, then such a widow might be enrolled in the list of the congregation, among those that were entitled to the support which was regularly given to such as were actually in need of help.
The apostle now describes another class of widows whom he very emphatically does not want to be included in the catalog of those that were entitled to maintenance: But the younger widows refuse; for if they feel the desire of the flesh over against Christ, they want to marry, having the condemnation that they have cast off their first faith. For denying the younger widows the right to be enrolled in the list of those that were supported by the congregation the apostle gives a simple reason. The younger women were still in possession of their full intellectual and bodily vigor, with all that this implies. As long as they were busy with their own support, there would be sufficient outlet for their superfluous energy, and they would not so easily be inclined to get into mischief. Should they receive their full support from the congregation, however, there would not be a convenient outlet for their natural rigor. Idleness would be apt to increase the impulse of their bodily desires, they would be in danger of seeking sensual satisfaction, of becoming addicted to dissipation and voluptuousness. This behavior, in turn, would place them in the strongest opposition to Christ. Even if they should then take the opportunity to get married and escape from the temptations to wickedness, the accusation would still stand that by means of the support received from the congregation they had taken the opportunity to become addicted to various vices. They would come under the judgment of condemnation that they had lost their faith by indulging in such sins of the flesh. Even marriage, in itself a holy state, would in their case only be the result of their having indulged in a life of ease which intensified the natural passions and made the gratification of their sex impulse the only reason for their entering it again.
But the apostle has still another reason for excluding younger widows from the support of the congregation: At the same time, on the other hand, being at leisure, they learn to run about from house to house, not only idle, however, but also garrulous and inquisitive, speaking things which they should not. With their maintenance assured, the younger widows might soon find time heavy on their hands. They would have too much leisure and at the same time too much energy. If they had devoted themselves to works of mercy, if they had spent the time at their disposal in growing in Christian knowledge, all might yet have been well. But the apostle's experience had shown him that they employed their time in an altogether different manner. They gadded about from house to house, without definite aim and purpose. Their idleness in itself was bad enough under the circumstances, but they also became gossipers, tattlers, they killed time with empty talk; they pried into affairs which were not their business, they managed to worm out family secrets from unsuspecting matrons. Naturally they got into the habit of repeating things which should have remained secret, their garrulousness being unrestrained by common sense; in a word, they developed into first-class talebearers. The application of the words of the apostle to circumstances of our day is so obvious that every reader may easily add his own comment.
The apostle now proposes a remedy for such conditions: I ordain, then, that the younger (widows) marry, bear children, manage a household, in no way give occasion to an opponent in favor of railing; for already some are turned aside after Satan. In order to avoid offense both within and outside of the congregation, the apostle here establishes a rule which may well be followed more frequently also in our days. The danger, as experience has shown, being such as pictured by St. Paul, the remedy lies in this, that younger widows enter holy matrimony for the second time before there is any chance for offense. And since marriage, by the blessing of God, should naturally be fruitful, the bearing of children should follow as a matter of course. That marriage, in our days, is often regarded only as a silly, voluptuous game, in which the blessing of children is excluded from the outset, is a damnable perversion of God's ordinance. The younger widows, having married again, would at any rate be engaged in managing their own households, in bringing up their children, and in taking care of the business end of the home. In the position of mother and mistress of a household a woman will best fulfill her calling in the world, will come nearest to meeting the ideal which the Bible praises. In this double office as mother and mistress of her household the woman, then, is so busily engaged that she has no time for gadding and for voluptuousness, and opponents will hardly find occasion for justified criticism and raillery which might throw a bad light on the Christian religion, on the faith and doctrine which the believers confess, upon which they pride themselves. The apostle's apprehension in this respect was not without good foundation, since some widows had already gone wrong, they had yielded to temptation, had forgotten chastity and decency, had left the way of sanctification, had denied the faith.
At the close of this paragraph the apostle once more takes up the matter of the maintenance of the widows: If a man or a woman among the believers have widows (among his or her relatives), let him assist them; the congregation is not to be burdened with them, in order that those widows that are really in need may be served with help. It seems that the care of the widows in the congregations was a burning question in those days, making it necessary for St. Paul to pay so much attention to its solution. His summary is that no person related to a widow should be permitted to evade the duty resting upon him; everyone should see to it that such a lonely widow is taken care of, that she is given the support which she needs. The congregation as such should not be burdened with her support, except in case of absolute necessity. Note: The congregations of our day may yell learn to take care of their benevolences in a well-ordered manner, which includes tactful investigation of all such cases in which support seems to be demanded.