1 Timothy 5:1-2

Mother, father, brother, sister, these are the building blocks of civilization. Many things are important to building and maintaining a civilized society. However, nothing, including the law, government, literacy, science, political systems, racial or ethnic identity, or organized religion is more important than the nuclear family unit is. We refer to God as our father and Christ as the Son of God. God created humanity to exist within the structure of relationships. Primarily in importance, is our relationship with Him. Following that is our relationships within our immediate family. It is only when we have found rightness in our relationship with God, and then in the relationships we have with our family that we can begin to live righteously with the rest of the world. We express the entirety of our Christian experience in the way we live out right relationships with others.

If a Christian is unable to have good relationships with their family, they have little hope of being consistently righteous with others. Godliness must begin at home. It was with this in mind that Paul gave his advice to Timothy. Paul knew that Timothy lived respectfully and lovingly within his own family. He told him that if he would treat an older man in the same way as he would treat his father, then it would be possible to correct and urge him to change in a Christ-like manner. Competition and conflict with younger men would remain Christian in nature if Timothy would treat the younger men the same way he would treat a brother. Purity and respect are necessity for Christian interaction between men and women. When a Christian man interacts with every woman as if she were his mother or his sister purity is not an issue.

Paul’s advice is only useful for Christians that have experience with or understanding of healthy family relationships. Becoming a Christian does not automatically heal old family wounds; it does require us to begin the process. Living Christ-like in the world, starts in the home.