In 1 Timothy 4, Paul gives Timothy a “laundry list” of practices he ought to follow to be effective in his leadership as a pastor. They include avoiding false teaching, and not letting folks look down on you because of your youth.
In 1 Timothy 5, Paul gives specific recommendations on how to relate to older men and women–as if they were your father or mother, and how to address the matter of widows in the church. Paul went to great lengths in defining what was and was not a widow and addressed younger widows in particular by telling them to remarry, so they would not be led astray. These recommendations don’t contradict what Paul said about marriage in 1 Corinthians, but they do show us there were some contextual differences between churches as we might expect. Paul also points out in the beginning of 1 Timothy 6 how slaves ought to respect and respond to their masters. This is really the completion of 1 Timothy 5, because the remainder of 1 Timothy 6 addresses the matter of wealthy members of the church.
In the remainder of 1 Timothy 6, Paul speaks about those who are wealthy or are “rich” in this world. He reminds him the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. Money is not evil. As someone has said, “Money is like a brick. It is neither good nor bad in and of itself. A brick can be used to build a house or break a window. It isn’t the brick that is good or bad, but the motivation of the one using it.” In the same way, Paul admonishes Timothy to instruct those with worldly wealth, which includes nearly all of us who are reading this, if we’re Americans, to be generous, to enjoy what God has given us, to use it to do good. So often when church people start talking about money, they get bogged down in defining what tithing is and whether we ought to tithe on the net or the gross. Here’s the short truth about wealth: When we realize it is all God’s in the first place, and we use it as faithful and generous stewards or managers, our lives are so much better than when we listen to the world and either hoard it or waste it. Money is a tool to be used in serving Jesus, our Master. Money is a great servant and a terrible master.
As we return to Luke 7, Jesus heals a Roman centurion’s servant, showing us His desire to see God’s Kingdom come was not reserved to Jews only. Next, Jesus raised a widow’s son from the dead, showing us His concern for widows. Then John the Baptist’s disciples come to Jesus and ask Him a piercing question from John: Are you the Messiah or not? John had been expecting a conquering hero Messiah, a Messiah who would restore Israel to prominence. Jesus wasn’t that. Jesus’ response was to quote a messianic passage from Isaiah to show John He was the Messiah, but not in the way John expected. Jesus used the moment to affirm John’s ministry. The final encounter of the chapter finds Jesus as a wealthy man’s dinner guest, when a “sinful” woman comes in and makes a scene, by kissing Jesus’ feet, washing them with her tears, and drying them with her hair. The rich man thinks to himself Jesus would know what kind of woman this was, if He were truly a prophet. Jesus tells the man a story about two men who owed their master a debt. One owed a great debt, the other a small debt. The master forgave both debts. Jesus asked which servant would love the master more? The man said the one who was forgiven more. Jesus affirmed the answer, and then affirmed the woman for her great love and said her sins, which were many were forgiven, because of her great love.