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25 Aug: Beyond Deserving
Learn to show godliness to [your] own household and to make some return to [your] parents. 1 Timothy 5:4
Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 5:1–8
On a recent two-hour flight, I ended up paying close attention to the two women sitting across the aisle from me. The younger one, probably in her sixties, spent the trip pulling things out of her bag for the older woman, who looked to be in her nineties. Fresh apple slices, homemade finger sandwiches, a wet wipe, and finally, a pristine copy of the New York Times. Every hand-off was full of dignity and quiet tenderness.
As we grabbed our bags to leave, I told the younger woman, “I noticed how you cared for her. It was really beautiful.”
She replied: “She’s my best friend. She’s my mother.”
It’s the kind of relationship we all want, but let’s be honest—family dynamics are usually complicated at best. Not everyone gets the “best friend” version of a parent.
Paul doesn’t gloss over that messy reality in his letter to Timothy, but he still sets a high bar. He pushes us to put our “religion into practice” by looking after our parents and grandparents, taking care of our “relatives” and our ” household” (1 Timothy 5:4, 8).
Usually, our default setting is conditional: we take care of family members only if they were good to us, or if we feel they deserve it. Paul offers a much better reason to step up. We do it simply because “this is pleasing in the sight of God” (verse 4).
By: Phil Sinclair
Go deeper on: Beyond Deserving
Reflect & Pray
If your parents are still living, how would you describe your relationship with them? Regardless of what kind of job they did as parents, what are some ways you can take care of them right now?
Father, give me grace and mercy as I seek to care for those who cared for me. And help me to remember the reason I’m doing it.