16 If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.
This verse concludes a short section on the responsibility of widows. It appears that idleness had set in among some of the widows that were part of the early Church. One of the principles of Scripture is that Believers are to help orphans and widows. These two groups of people are a special class of people. In the ancient world, they were the ones who were most vulnerable to poverty and neglect. They didn’t have any social supports from the government. There were no insurance policies that provided for them when tragedy struck. They were on their own. They had to provide for themselves. Often their lives were ones of chronic hunger and desperation. That is why it was important to God that Believers took action to help them. The soup kitchens of this country are an outgrowth of this idea. Long before the government was involved in caring, God’s people carried out this ministry to millions who were hurting and desperate. So what is our responsibility today? We pay taxes, so shouldn’t our responsibility be fulfilled? The government has taken our money, so shouldn’t they provide for the orphans and widows? But the text deals with a very different issues. Family should be the first support network for widows. Families have the responsibility for taking care of their own. The church’s first goal is to help those who don’t have any of the normal support channels. They don’t have family to support them, so we as Christ’s body are to be ready to help. Consider what you can do to help some widows.
The Arnold Journey 