October 20
1 Timothy 5:1-25
Everyone needs a rocking chair in the kitchen. When my mother was elderly, dealing with cancer, and sitting in a rocker in my kitchen area, she quoted my grandmother who said, “A rocking chair always needed to be in the kitchen.” When I inquired more about the statement, she explained that as a woman aged, she could live with the family, sit in a rocker in the kitchen and still be useful by peeling potatoes, snapping green beans, or shelling peas.
Paul alludes to this same concept in I Timothy 5 when he explains to Timothy the role of the church in caring for widows. Widows’ needs are attended to by the church, but first the family of the widow is to care for her. The characteristics of a widow placed on ‘the list” includes faithfulness to her husband and commitment to good deeds, i.e., raising children, showing hospitality, humble acts of washing the feet of saints, and caring for those in trouble. She was not to have a habit of idleness/laziness or of gossiping or meddling in others’ affairs.
We can take several lessons from this. First, we are to care for others and be committed to doing good deeds. Second, we should consider how well our lives stack up to the qualifications described in this chapter.
Father, as I approach the rocking chair age, keep me attuned to others’ needs and committed to doing good deeds. Amen.
Which elderly person or someone in need could you reach out to and encourage today?
Everyone needs a rocking chair in the kitchen. When my mother was elderly, dealing with cancer, and sitting in a rocker in my kitchen area, she quoted my grandmother who said, “A rocking chair always needed to be in the kitchen.” When I inquired more about the statement, she explained that as a woman aged, she could live with the family, sit in a rocker in the kitchen and still be useful by peeling potatoes, snapping green beans, or shelling peas.
Paul alludes to this same concept in I Timothy 5 when he explains to Timothy the role of the church in caring for widows. Widows’ needs are attended to by the church, but first the family of the widow is to care for her. The characteristics of a widow placed on ‘the list” includes faithfulness to her husband and commitment to good deeds, i.e., raising children, showing hospitality, humble acts of washing the feet of saints, and caring for those in trouble. She was not to have a habit of idleness/laziness or of gossiping or meddling in others’ affairs.
We can take several lessons from this. First, we are to care for others and be committed to doing good deeds. Second, we should consider how well our lives stack up to the qualifications described in this chapter.
Father, as I approach the rocking chair age, keep me attuned to others’ needs and committed to doing good deeds. Amen.
Which elderly person or someone in need could you reach out to and encourage today?
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