Dead Widow Walking

But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives. (1 Timothy 5:6-7)

The widow is one who has survived the husband in death. Here we have admonition to a young pastor as to how to minister to widows…especially the young ones. Paul writes that their misery is compounded when the widow turns away from Christ to serve sin and self. The desires and temptations that face the younger women are great. Their fear can lead them away from the Lord and toward the devil. For someone to be dead while she lives is a sorrowful and sorrow-filled state. I see this in women who are abandoned as well. Turning away from trusting the Lord they give themselves and their honor away to a bogus belief that they need another man to take care of them. Sadly, many men will take advantage of such women. And many women will be bound to a horrible existence or abandoned again. The wise counsel is to trust God in their widowhood or their abandonment. Perhaps the Lord has a man in mind. But unless the Lord is consulted, the woman will be prone to foolish choices and a deathlike existence. The Lord is near the broken hearted…He has a special place for grace in which the true widow can abide. Paul’s counsel is that younger women who are in a widow’s position would do well to marry and raise children and keep a godly life in view. Our walk with the Lord really matters in this world.