Thursday, February 11, 2010

"Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Timothy 5:8).

IDEA: Through our work we meet the needs of our families.

PURPOSE: To help people see the dignity of their work.

We've been talking about the value God puts upon daily work. Do you think that this was a question our parents or grandparents thought about much?

If you asked someone in the previous generation why he or she worked, what do you think they would say? Would they have understood the question?

I. People who did not raise the question about God in their work were still serving God.

1 Timothy 5:8 – "If anyone does not provide . . . he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

Why do you think that Paul says that someone who does not provide for his family has denied the faith? What article of faith have they denied?

Why is such a professing Christian worse than an unbeliever?

II. Jesus assumes that one of the reasons that people work is to provide for their family. Do you think that is a God-given instinct?

Working is an opportunity to care for our families. Our parents and grandparents understood and appreciated that.

Are there any dangers in looking at only this application of the command to love others? Are there dangers in ignoring it?