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1 Timothy 5:13
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13 And [de] [kai] withal [hama] they learn [manthano] to be idle, [argos] wandering about [perierchomai] from house to house; [oikia] and [de] not [ou] only [monon] idle, [argos] but [alla] tattlers [phluaros] also [kai] and [kai] busybodies, [periergos] speaking [laleo] things which [ho] they ought [dei] not. [me] KJV-Interlinear
13 And at the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention. NASB
Our subject is young widow’s who may be used in ministerial services in some capacity.
Youth and immaturity then become problematic in many of these cases.
Not all young women are immature, and that should be obvious, so there could easily be exceptions to these suggestions that Paul is making to Timothy. But Timothy or any member of a church or organization, needs to be alert to the maturity and qualifications and the potential pitfalls when considering hiring or utilizing young and immature people within their organization.
And by the way, older does not mean wiser or more mature. Spiritual maturity is the key, not age per se.
Anyway, that is all that these instructions are. Guidelines to help make decisions regarding who to include and who to avoid.
Remember the whole context of these last several verses. You have young widows, who have been through a traumatic experience, and virtually left alone, penniless and helpless, in the world. Their husband is no longer around, their family does not or cannot be of help to them. Therefore, support falls upon the local Christian population.
Naturally a young and helpless widow would be grateful for the support, but that in turn makes her vulnerable, and even perhaps a target.
And to make matters worse, her life has taken a turn for the worse. Her emotions will be working on overdrive, ‘What has happened to me?’ ‘What is going to become of me?’
And so it goes. With emotional conflict within her, then any church activities may very well turn into idleness.
The word for idle, ‘argos,’ means to be inactive, useless, barren, slow. And here it is a reference to her emotional condition. Her thoughts will turn to that of worthlessness. ‘What am I worth anymore?’ Self pity and depression can set in and the spiral of life turns downward.
Wandering from house to house, in an orderly effort to help others, becomes disorderly, wandering, lacking purpose as the thoughts of ones self become filled with hopelessness or anxiety from lack of worth.
And when ones focus becomes blurred, then ones life becomes filled with made up talk, invented talk, gossip, nonsense, made up charges, as the vacuum of ones life is filled with busybody activities. And that is dangerous to others, as well as to the widow who has become disoriented to life.
The work conducted in the ministry (this does not include the teaching of doctrine), which includes visiting others who are ill, injured, in need of help and so forth, requires focus, maturity, a respect for their privacy and confidentiality in personal matters, and a maximum amount of doctrine in the soul.
Distractions become hindrances, and a mature woman (or any mature person), is better equipped to deal with such matters than an immature woman (or any immature person).
As with any person who is growing up in their spiritual life, silence and non-involvement is the virtue, until one is old enough and mature enough, and qualified enough to handle the responsibilities expected of them.
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