Here is wise advice in how any of us treat both those older and younger than us (v1-2). Grace and purity should mark our conversation.

Paul comes to deal with the important subject of widows. In Paul’s time we must remember there was no welfare state to provide for widows. There was and continues to be great responsibility for families to see that their relatives are cared for and not neglected (v4, 8).

Paul’s language is very strong and a professing Christian who doesn’t provide for family members is described as being worse than an unbeliever. Families caring for their own members means the church can concentrate on those left by themselves (v3, 16).

There is a wonderful balance in this section about responsibility. Families have responsibility to care, the church has responsibility to care, but also the individual has responsibility to act where they can help themselves (v6, 9-15). In the church there is no place for laziness or self-centredness when it comes to caring and seeing needs being met.