But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;
The instructions in 1 Timothy 5:3-16 distinguish which widows the church should support, directing care to widows who are deserving while younger widows are not to be placed on the church's support list. To refuse the younger widows means not to enroll them for that support, because when they turn from their commitment to Christ they will choose to marry. Their warning is that youth brings the likelihood of turning aside from pledged devotion to Christ toward marriage. Any help extended to younger widows must therefore be weighed with discernment and cannot be treated as an automatic, permanent claim on church funds.
The instructions in 1 Timothy 5:3-16 distinguish which widows the church should support, directing care to widows who are deserving while younger widows are not to be placed on the church's support list. To refuse the younger widows means not to enroll them for that support, because when they turn from their commitment to Christ they will choose to marry. Their warning is that youth brings the likelihood of turning aside from pledged devotion to Christ toward marriage. Any help extended to younger widows must therefore be weighed with discernment and cannot be treated as an automatic, permanent claim on church funds.