Interpersonal Communication - Tuesday with Timothy #62

1 Timothy 5:1-2  Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

Paul has written sort of a godly interpersonal communication admonition. Regardless of how well we may preach or how tight our doctrinal statements are, you still need to communicate those truths to God's people. The pastor is merely an undershepherd, a servant in God's house, dealing with the souls of God's people. He is not the Lord and master, but a herald and one commissioned with the oversight. God has called the man, and the church has called the man to this position of oversight and authority. Paul is continuing to expound on how everyone ought to behave in the house of God, so he instructs Timothy how he is to treat those members of the church he cares for.

In this verse, we have a wide array of people in different stages of life. Notice that Paul is assuming that there will be the old an the young together in the church. Paul's answer was not to have a 8am service for the traditional worship and 10am service for contemporary.

First, the elderly men. This isn't the office of elder, but men who are far from chronologically challenged. The word translated rebuke is only found in the New Testament this one time, and its general usage was to "strike" or "lay blows upon"*. So, don't beat up the old guys. However, since we've already established that the pastor should not be a fighter (1 Tim 3:3) I don't think that Paul telling us not to punch the elderly. This stronger word is a metaphor. It isn't that the pastor is to never rebuke anyone that is drawing social security, or that the elderly are always correct, but the pastor needs to deal with people as individuals. The elderly men in the congregation deserve respect and Timothy needs to treat the elderly men in the congregation like they were his father. With honor, with dignity, and with respect. It's not that he should not correct, but he should take care how he corrects. I know that it happens, but I've never been a member of a church where the pastor was the oldest member. I once had a pastor, who Solomon might have described as hoary headed. Even then, there were a few members that still thought him to be that "young man" who was just barely in his 60's.

Does this mean that the elderly are never wrong? Of course not. Neither does it mean that once you get to a certain age, you can do whatever you want. But you cannot deal with all people exactly the same way. Treat the elderly women like mamma, and the young men and young women like siblings. Don't think about the young men as your servants or rivals, but your brother. Look at the young women like sisters, not objects.








*Vincent's Word Studies, Marvin R. Vincent, D.D.
*WORD PICTURES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, Archibald Thomas Robertson