Lesson 14: Faithful in how you treat others
1 Timothy 5:1-6 - www.bible.com/bible/59/1ti.5

1 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers,
2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.
3 Honor widows who are truly widows.
4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.
5 She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day,
6 but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.

How we treat others, especially other Christians, directly reflects on our relationship with Jesus. Jesus said, in John 13:35, “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” In our verses today we are told to respect older people and not to rebuke them. There is a great difference between rebuking and encouraging someone. Rather than telling someone, “You are wrong!” (rebuke), you might say, “I tried it this way and it worked for me…” or “I wonder if ___ was hurt by your words; would you like me to go with you and help you reconcile with…?”


We also need to be careful and aware of how we treat people of the opposite sex. In our verses, we are given the command of doing so with purity. Purity begins in our thoughts – what is our intention toward this person? Remembering God’s commands to not be sexually involved with anyone but the person to whom we are married is an excellent way of keeping ourselves and others pure. We do not touch inappropriately, and we do not suggest by either word or action that we are interested in such contact.

The verses about widows are commands about how we treat others who cannot help themselves. To just give someone something they need may feel like a good thing for us to do (and make us feel good about ourselves), but may not be the best thing for the other person. Our primary goal should always be to do what is best for the other person. For example, giving someone a meal when they are ill and cannot prepare a meal for themselves is an act of kindness. But giving someone a meal who is too lazy to go to work is not an act of kindness – but helping that person find a job so they can take care of themselves would be the act of kindness. We should never, for our own sakes, encourage someone else to be lazy or greedy or anything else against God’s will.
*Practice rephrasing potential rebukes to become encouragements instead, so you will be ready to reflect Jesus’ love. It’s helpful to use “I messages,” as in the examples above.
*What need in someone else’s life came to your mind as you read this lesson? Ask God if/how He wants you to help meet this need.