How does 1 Timothy 5:6 connect with Proverbs 21:17 about loving pleasure? The Texts in View • 1 Timothy 5:6: “But she who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.” • Proverbs 21:17: “He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich.” A Shared Core Idea: Pleasure as a False Lifeline • Both passages spotlight a person who makes personal gratification the guiding principle. • Paul says she is “dead even while she lives”—her body breathes, but her spirit is inactive toward God. • Solomon warns that clinging to pleasure leaves a man materially “poor” and, by extension, morally and spiritually impoverished. • Same root problem, two different outcomes: spiritual death (Timothy) and economic ruin (Proverbs)—both forms of poverty. Why Paul Focuses on the Widow • Context (1 Timothy 5:3-8): the church is to honor widows indeed—those truly desolate and godly. • The contrast widow (v. 6) has resources but squanders them on self-indulgence. • Her lifestyle contradicts the dependence on God demanded in v. 5: “continues night and day in petitions and prayers.” • Paul applies a truth Solomon voiced centuries earlier: when pleasure is king, decay follows. Parallel Language and Imagery • “Lives for pleasure” (σπαταλῶσα) in 1 Timothy 5:6 carries the sense of self-luxury and wanton living—echoes “loves wine and oil” (symbols of luxury) in Proverbs 21:17. • Both texts put pleasure in the present tense: ongoing habit, not an occasional treat. Complementary Passages Reinforcing the Link • Isaiah 5:12-13 — parties with “lyre and harp… but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD; therefore My people go into exile.” • Luke 8:14 — seed choked by “pleasures of life,” yielding no fruit. • Philippians 3:19 — “their god is their belly… their end is destruction.” • James 5:5 — “You have lived in luxury… you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.” • 1 John 2:15-17 — loving the world’s desires replaces love for the Father and passes away with the world. Two Sides of the Same Coin " 1 Timothy 5:6 " Proverbs 21:17 " " — " — " " Spiritual death now " Material poverty now " " Eternal loss if unrepentant " Temporal loss that foretells greater ruin " " Addressed to a church member " Addressed to anyone under the sun " " Pleasure kills devotion " Pleasure drains resources " Take-Home Principles • Pleasure is not condemned in itself (cf. 1 Timothy 6:17), but enthroning it steals both life and livelihood. • External bankruptcy and internal barrenness usually travel together; one passage highlights the heart, the other the wallet. • True life and true riches flow from seeking God first (Matthew 6:33), not from chasing sensations. • The church must lovingly warn and, when needed, withhold support from professing believers who persist in self-indulgence (1 Timothy 5:11-12, 5:16). Living in the Better Way • Cultivate prayerful dependence like the “widow indeed” (1 Timothy 5:5). • Practice sober stewardship (Proverbs 21:20: “Precious treasure… is in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man devours it”). • Fix hope on “the living God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17), letting gratitude, not appetite, govern each decision. |
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