Some Rules for Living with Other People

5 ¹Don't speak angrily to an older man. But talk to him like he was your father. Treat the younger men like brothers. ²Treat the older women like mothers. And treat the younger women like sisters. Always treat them in a good way. ³Give honor to (take care of) widows* who are really alone. ⁴But if a widow has children or grandchildren, the first thing they need to learn is this: to show respect for their own family [by helping their parents]. When they do this, they will be repaying their parents or grandparents. That pleases God. ⁵If a widow is really alone and without help, then she hopes in God [to take care of her]. That woman prays all the time, night and day. She asks God for help. ⁶But the widow who uses her life to please herself is really dead while she is still living. ⁷Tell the believers there to do these things (take care of their family) so that no other person can say they are doing wrong. ⁸A person should take care of all his own people. Most important, he should take care of his own family. If a person does not do that, then he does not accept the [true] faith (teaching). That person is worse than a person who does not believe. ⁹To be added to your list of widows,* a woman must be 60 years old or older. She must have been faithful to her husband. ¹⁰She must be known as a woman who has done good things. I mean good things like raising her children, accepting visitors in her home, washing the feet of God's people, helping people in trouble, and using her life to do all kinds of good things. ¹¹But don't put younger widows* on that list. When they give themselves to Christ, they are often pulled away from him by their strong physical needs. Then they want to marry again. ¹²And they will be judged for that. They will be judged for not doing what they first promised to do. ¹³Also, those younger widows begin to waste their time going from house to house. They also begin to gossip and be busy with other people's lives. They say things that they should not say. ¹⁴So I want the younger widows to marry, have children, and take care of their homes. If they do this, then our enemy will not have any reason to criticize them. ¹⁵But some of the younger widows have already turned away to follow Satan (the devil). ¹⁶If any woman who is a believer has widows* in her family, then she* should care for them herself. The church should not be troubled to care for them. Then the church will be able to care for the widows who have no living family. ¹⁷The elders* who lead the church in a good way should receive great honor. They should be paid doubly well. This is especially true for those elders who work in speaking and teaching. ¹⁸Why? Because the Scripture* says, "When a work animal is doing the work of separating grain, don't cover its mouth [and stop it from eating the grain]."* And the Scripture also says, "A worker should be given his pay."* ¹⁹Don't listen to a person who accuses an elder.* You should listen to that person only if there are two or three other people who can say what the elder did wrong. ²⁰Tell those people who sin that they are wrong. Do this in front of the whole church. In that way the others will have a warning. ²¹Before God and Jesus Christ and the chosen angels I command you to do these things. But don't judge people before you know the truth. And do these things equally to every person. ²²Think carefully before you put your hands on* any person, [making him an elder]. Don't share in the sins of other people. Keep yourself pure. ²³Timothy, you have been drinking only water. Stop doing that, and drink a little wine. This will help your stomach, and you will not be sick so often. ²⁴The sins of some people are easy to see. Their sins show that they will be judged. But the sins of some other people are seen only later. ²⁵It is the same with the good things people do. The good things people do are easy to see. But even when those good things are not easy to see, they cannot stay hidden.

widows A widow is a woman whose husband has died. woman ... she Some Greek copies have: "man or woman ... he/she." elder(s) A group of men chosen to lead a church. Also called "overseers" and "pastors" (shepherds), they have the work of caring for God's people (Acts 20:28; Eph. 4:11; Tit. 1:7,9). Scripture Part of the Holy Writings--God's message to people through the writers of the Bible. "When a work animal ... grain" Quote from Deut. 25:4. "A worker should be given his pay" Quote from Lk. 10:7. put your hands on A sign of giving authority or power to another person.