HAHAHAHA!!!!! IT'S A HEALING TOPIC!!!! GOTCHA!!!! [please scroll down...]
Just kidding ...
I have begun seriously thinking today about Timothy being single.
[I have a reason - bear with me.]
I began to think about how Paul told Timothy to flee youthful lusts, how he told him to regard the younger women as sisters, and how he told him to "let no man despise your youth", but that Timothy should be an example to the believers in all things.
The more and more I think about all the admonitions Paul gave to Timothy, the more it sounds like the apostle was writing to a single young man, rather than a seasoned married pastor [which I always believed Timothy to be from my Baptist upbringing].
Now as to the reason for my question was timothy married...
I've always heard that single people should not go into ministry, and that many churches will not ordain an unmarried man or unmarried woman into full-time ministry, because of sexual temptations, being a novice, loneliness, inability to relate to married couples in your church, et cetera, and all these reasons I fully understand.
That being said, if Timothy WAS indeed single, the fact that he was ordained by Apostle Paul, as a pastor, runs counter to everything I was ever taught when I was growing up and coming up in the church. In fact, one church I attended for YEARS, the pastor wouldn't ordain me into a ministry position because of my being single [as well as my age being a factor, being in my 20's].
Then also, there is the question of Timothy's age. Referencing the above scriptures, it doesn't seem to me that Paul would tell Timothy to "flee youthful lusts" if he was like 35 or something. Also, he did call him "SON Timothy" in one other passage as I recall.
I wanted to start a discussion on this. My wheels have been really turning today about it. Seemed a very interesting, discussion-worthy topic to me, and I thought we could get some good answers from some of our super-duper Bible scholars here on CF.
Thanks in advance!!!
Just kidding ...
I have begun seriously thinking today about Timothy being single.
[I have a reason - bear with me.]
I began to think about how Paul told Timothy to flee youthful lusts, how he told him to regard the younger women as sisters, and how he told him to "let no man despise your youth", but that Timothy should be an example to the believers in all things.
The more and more I think about all the admonitions Paul gave to Timothy, the more it sounds like the apostle was writing to a single young man, rather than a seasoned married pastor [which I always believed Timothy to be from my Baptist upbringing].
Now as to the reason for my question was timothy married...
I've always heard that single people should not go into ministry, and that many churches will not ordain an unmarried man or unmarried woman into full-time ministry, because of sexual temptations, being a novice, loneliness, inability to relate to married couples in your church, et cetera, and all these reasons I fully understand.
That being said, if Timothy WAS indeed single, the fact that he was ordained by Apostle Paul, as a pastor, runs counter to everything I was ever taught when I was growing up and coming up in the church. In fact, one church I attended for YEARS, the pastor wouldn't ordain me into a ministry position because of my being single [as well as my age being a factor, being in my 20's].
Then also, there is the question of Timothy's age. Referencing the above scriptures, it doesn't seem to me that Paul would tell Timothy to "flee youthful lusts" if he was like 35 or something. Also, he did call him "SON Timothy" in one other passage as I recall.
I wanted to start a discussion on this. My wheels have been really turning today about it. Seemed a very interesting, discussion-worthy topic to me, and I thought we could get some good answers from some of our super-duper Bible scholars here on CF.
Thanks in advance!!!