1 Timothy 5:1-10

Don’t be harsh or verbally abusive to an older man; it is better to appeal to him as a father. And as you minister to the younger men it is best to encourage them as your dear brothers. Honor the older women as mothers, and the younger women, treat as your dear sisters with utmost purity. The church needs to honor and support the widows, especially those who are in dire need. But if they have children or grandchildren at home, then it is only proper to let them provide for the ones who raised them when they were children, for kindness begins at home and it pleases God. For the true widow is all alone and has placed her complete hope in God. She is Messiah’s missionary and will need the support of the church as one who remains in prayer day and night. But the widow who serves only herself lives a life of self-indulgence and is wasting her life away. Be sure to give clear instruction concerning these matters so that none of them will live with shame. For if a believer fails to provide for their own relatives when they are in need, they have compromised their convictions of faith and need to be corrected, for they are living worse than the unbelievers. The widows who are worthy to be supported by the church should be at least sixty years old and not remarried. They should have a beautiful testimony of raising their families, practicing hospitality, encouraging other believers, comforting troubled ones, and have a reputation for doing good works.