She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth | Biblical Womanhood


“She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth” (1 Tim. 5:6)


1 Tim 5:6 says, “she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth”. What does this mean?


First of all, in the first half of 1 Timothy chapter 5, Paul is speaking about honoring widows and how widows are to behave and live. The whole book of 1 Timothy is about preaching the gospel, avoiding false doctrines and our conduct as believers so that we don't blaspheme God's word. 


Everything that we do as believers needs to be about the gospel including sharing it with others, teaching sound grace doctrine to others and allowing Christ to live in and through us as believers in the hopes also that the unbelievers in our lives will be saved and that fellow believers who are weaker in the faith will desire to mature spiritually through the word. 


There is to be a specific order in the church as far as teaching doctrine is concerned. The aged women and those women who are more spiritually mature in the faith are to teach the younger women and teach those women who are weaker in the faith (those who have less understanding of God's word). 


As believers we are also to respect our elders and those more spiritually mature in the faith (of course we should also be kind and respectful to all believers).


1 Tim 5:1-2

1 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;

2The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.


1 Timothy 5:17 says

"Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine."


We are to honor widows as well. 


1 Tim 5:3

3 Honour widows that are widows indeed.


A widow here is in reference to a Christian woman that was married, but who's husband has died. The local assembly is supposed to help one another in anyway that they can. Since women are commanded to be keepers at home, this means that they do not usually have careers and may need some financial support. Not only do they need financial support, but also emotional support too. A widow can be desolate financially but might also feel alone emotionally. If she has adult children, they should be taking care of her, especially if they are believers. She should not just live lazily with them, but can contribute in various ways if she is healthy enough to do so. She can help keep house, watch the grandchildren, help teach Bible study to children and younger women, and help out at the local assembly etc.


1 Tim 5:4

4But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.


So many people today abandon their elderly parents. Unless they have severe health issues and need nursing assistance in which you cannot do, or if you have health issues yourself in which you cannot take care of them yourself, we are supposed to care for our own elderly parents. If the widows have no one to take care of them then the local church assembly should help them.


1 Timothy 5:8

8But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.


It says in 1 Tim 5:5-6

5Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.

6But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.


She trusts in God to help her to get through difficult times. She stays prayerful not just for herself, but for fellow believers. This verse is NOT saying that God will miraculously send her money. That would be a modified health and wealth gospel. She is trusting in God and His word to strengthen her in her mind and heart. This means that she will also choose to spend even more time in Bible study and prayer. This may even cause her to share the gospel more with others and to teach sound grace doctrine more often as well.


However, if she just lives in pleasure, she is not being useful to God and not helpful to the church. If, after her husband dies, she just goes on with her life by living very worldly and not sharing the Gospel or teaching the younger women and children, then she is loosing rewards for heaven and not being useful to God. Also, believers are to rightly divide the scriptures so that we understand God's will today or else we are of no use to God and are essentially "dead while we are alive"!


Eph:4:17-19 says, 

17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

18: Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

19: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.


Eph:5:14: Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.


When we live like the spiritually lost do, we are living in the vanity of our mind, and our testimony is weak and we loose rewards for heaven. 


Widowed or not, believers are NOT to just live for themselves. Now, this doesn't mean that you can never have any downtime or enjoyment in life. But we are not to live worldly and focused on ourselves most of the time.


A woman living in pleasure, and in the vanity of her mind, would include things like:

• Never sharing the Gospel with others 

• Not teaching our own children the gospel and the whole Bible rightly divided 

• Not keeping house

• Not taking good care of our children and family 

• Refusing to obey our husband and being disrespectful, rude and contentious with our husband

• Aged women just living for themselves instead of teaching Gods word (including biblical womanhood and homemaking) to younger women 

• Being disrespectful to our elders 

• Arguing and debating with others 

• Gossiping 

• Being envious and jealous of others instead of thankful to God 

• Being more focused on "following our hearts" instead of living according to God's will and His word rightly divided 

• Dressing immodestly and worldly instead of dressing and behaving modestly 

• Using foul language 

• Not being moderate or temperate in all things 

• Being rude instead of kind

• Being given to MUCH wine 

And other such things. 


It includes always seeking the pleasures of this world instead of taking time to really read and study God's word and teaching it to our children, and taking care of our family and home. 


1Jo 2:16 KJV - 

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.


Do you spend all day instead watching tv, the news or streaming shows, or scrolling through social media? Are you spending too much of your husbands hard earned money on new clothes, beauty treatments, eating at expensive restaurants, going on fancy vacations, etc? This is something to think about. If we are just living in the lusts of our flesh all of the time, it doesn't help unbelievers to be saved nor does it help fellow believers to be edified and it doesn't help our children to learn to live godly either. It also puts a heavy burden on our husbands. 


Can you instead find pleasure in the more simple things in life? Can you be more temperate (moderate) in all things? Can you learn to be more frugal with your spending? Can you spend more time reading and studying scripture? What are some good things that you can do today for your family? What is something kind you can do today for your husband?


Phl 4:5 KJV - 

5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.


1Co 9:25 KJV - 

25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.


It also says in 1 Tim 5:9-15,

9 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, [60] having been the wife of one man,

10Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.

11¶But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;

12Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.

13And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.

14I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

15For some are already turned aside after Satan.


Younger widows should remarry a good Christian man if she can find one, and should continue with being wives, mothers and homemakers. If they do not, and decide instead to live for themselves and to live worldly, she is "dead while she liveth". It says that these women will start to go around gossiping (today they might also be scrolling social media all day, arguing and debating with others online, calling or texting people all day, watching streaming shows all day, playing video games for hours, etc), being lazy and "speaking things which they ought not."


Instead widows, and all women believers, should be spending our time serving the living God by allowing Christ and His word to live in and through us in the details of our lives. This means taking time daily to read and study God's word rightly divided, believe it and live it out in our day to day life. 

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