Honoring Widows

137 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 5:3 Honor widows who are really widows. 4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God. The word “widow” in the Greek is the idea of someone with a deficiency. It comes from a word that means gap or chasm, an impassable interval. The deficiency for the way we use the term is, this person once had a spouse, but the spouse passed away and now the widow is left alone to fend for herself or himself. He or she is deficient, lacking someone who was once united with them, (The two shall become one) It is well and good to call someone a widow who has lost their spouse, but let us not limit our definition to that. In the context here, a widow is anyone who has a gap in family support. It is anyone who for whatever reason finds themselves without any means of support. (Financially, emotionally, spiritually.) The Holy Spirit speaking through Paul commands us to honor, that is give value to, or prize those who find themselves abandoned. This is God's plan for social security! The first line of defense for those who find themselves alone is the immediate family! The children and the grandchildren have the responsibility to take care of mom and or dad or both when the days of deficiency come upon them. Plain and simple it is payback time kids. Your mother and father sacrificed for one third of their life, (sometimes even more) giving up sleep, money, and time, for you! How many years, how long of a season can you now sacrifice for them as you seek to meet their deficiencies? Show piety! The word has a double meaning. It means to respect and support your parents, but it also means to worship God! Think about that! Meeting the deficiencies of mom and dad is an act of worship! No wonder God says, Eph 6:2 "Honor your father and mother,"! This is good and acceptable to God!