Leadership- Respect Others Series

Series: Action [#209]

LEADERSHIP- RESPECT OTHERS

1 Timothy 5:1-25

Introduction:

As we continue our Series, “Action”; I want to remind you that how we treat others matters. Paul was reminding Timothy of some truths that his Mother and Grandmother taught him- Respect others. I too, was taught respect by my Parents and Grandparents. In 2024 in the United States, respect of others seems to be disappearing. If you would like to see this lack of respect, just turn your attention to Reality TV. Many of these shows depict an environment where everyone is supposedly looking for love. Instead, there is all sorts of promiscuity, fighting, and just ugly drama. I fear that many of our younger generations think that this is what relationships are like. Whether it is romantic relationships, family relationships, work relationships, or Church relationships; you just keep fighting and moving from person to person until you find someone that can put up with you. This is not reality.

Our text is filled with real everyday information for the Church. Paul was giving Timothy practical advice in how to deal with different groups of people within his Congregation.

1 Timothy 5:1-2

Treat…

1. Everyone with respect.

If you really think about it, you can draw people to Christ or push them away from Christ based on how you treat them. If you show them respect, they are drawn to Christ and if you disrespect them, you push them away. Paul tells us that we should treat men who are older than us as we would treat our father. We should treat men who are younger than us as we would treat our brother. We should treat women who are older than us as we would treat our mother. We should treat women who are younger than us as we would treat our sister. Simply put, treat others as you would like to be treated.

1 Timothy 5:3-16

Treat…

2. Your family with respect.

There are many details in this passage. There is a focus in this section about how the widows of the Church should be treated. It is important to notice that the discussion concerning widows is directed at natural families as well as Church families. Paul tells us that the Church should only be financially and physically responsible for those widows that are older and have no living relatives.

If there are living family members who can take care of the widow, then they should. In fact, if they will not take care of her, Paul says they are worse than “lost” people. Now, we must understand that when this was written, that widows had no social status. They were almost as good as dead. The Church was actually fulfilling a role for these widows that had never been taken care of before.

The widows were given strict instructions to trust in God and focus their lives on Him. This is 1 of the reasons that the widows that were young enough to remarry and have children were told to do so. If they didn’t and had too much time on their hands, they would make bad decisions. They would spend their time gossiping and destroying others.

Bel Aire made me so proud to be the Pastor during the COVID Pandemic. The NM Governor had shut Churches down and Bel Aire members stepped up. Karen and I decided to take food to Bel Aire’s widows each week; and the 1st week we did that, we realized that we were not the 1st people to do so. When we showed up to Marty Bateman’s home, there was enough boxes of food on her kitchen table to feed an army. I asked Marty if her family had brought her all of that food and she said that she had told her sons and family to not bring food because Bel Aire members had brought so much. Marty asked me if I would be offended if she shared that food with her neighbors and of course I didn’t mind. I volunteered to take some of the boxes of food to her neighbors and that is what we did. As Karen and I continued to take food to our widows, we discovered the same situation at every home. What a blessing Bel Aire has been. None of this was ever planned or discussed with any of the members, yet they simply did the right thing.

1 Timothy 5:17-25

Treat…

3. Your spiritual leaders with respect.

A minister is worthy of being taken care of financially. The congregation ought to do right by their ministers. Paul says that when a minister is accused of something, you shouldn’t just believe it. Trust me, the enemy loves for people to spread gossip and lies against ministers. Now, Paul also says that if the minister is guilty that they should be dealt with.