“Honor widows who are widows indeed.” (1 Timothy 5:3) The
English word widow describes a woman whose husband is dead. The
Greek word chera (“widow”) includes that meaning, but is not
limited to it. It is an adjective used as a noun, and means
“bereft,” “robbed,” “having suffered loss,” or “left alone.” The
word does not speak of how a woman was left alone, it merely
describes the situation. It is broad enough to encompass those
who lost their husbands through death, desertion, divorce, or
imprisonment. It could even encompass those cases where a
polygamist came to Christ and sent away his extra wives (William
Barclay, The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon
[Philadelphia: Westminster, 1975], 105). The responsibility of
the church thus extends to all qualifying women who have lost
their husbands. With divorce and desertion rampant in our
society, we face an even greater challenge than the Ephesian
church. The treatment of widows tests the spiritual character of
the Christian community. Believers’ devotion