A Timothy Faith Man

Decisions we make today…wise or unwise determine our tomorrow.

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.…Ephesians 5:15-16

I was speaking to an older widow who was married over 50 years to a former Assembly of God minister and she told me that although she had a couple of times she could have remarried, she decided not to because it was not fair to these two men, in her mind she did not see how they could measure up to her former husband. It would be the same with Joel Osteen’s mother who was married to such a mighty man of God as John Osteen.

When it says that a widow can be married to anyone “only in the Lord or who loves the Lord” there are some people that seem more “into the Lord” than others as far as their commitment to read the word and their zeal and pleasing God, and sometimes it is a younger Christian.

I remember when I first became a Christian, my Bible did not collect dust. I read it from cover to cover over and over again. It seems like I could not get enough of it.

A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. (But only if he loves the Lord.) 1 Cor. 7:39

But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried cares for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: 1 Cor. 7:32

I spoke to a pastor recently who said he prefers to use younger Christians in his church because they are more flexible and open to change. That is the same thing I decided. I decided to marry a young Christian because he was more flexible/zealous and teachable. He did not become like Saul where he had hardened his heart over time.

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

I noticed the same thing when I broke my ankle at a missionary retreat, not an older Christian, but a younger Christian came up to pray for my broken ankle, and immediately, the pain left and I was dancing with my cast on at the music service that evening. Those young baby Christians can be rich in faith.

All the apostles who started the early church walked with Jesus three years, Paul waited around 15 years before he started in the ministry. He started out with Barnabus who was the son of encouragement, who let the other apostle’s know that Paul who was Saul and persecuted the church, had been converted. I like a Barnabus or encourager in life, but also a Timothy.

The elder brother got upset with the younger brother – he made a comment how his younger brother squandered all the money on prostitutes and he refused to celebrate with the Father when he returned home. He also talked about slaving for the father so he lost his love relationship with the Father. I don’t want to be the elder brother where I fail to recognize my rights and privileges of being in the kingdom and fail to rejoice with the younger Christians, but enjoy being around younger believers. To me they are the fresh younger blood.

But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. Luke 15:29

Many of us got damaged by someone in our past from a believer and for some it was right after Bible college. I found young Timothy (a Christian two years old in the faith) made the difference in my life when my faith was damaged and weak.

At times when I wanted to bail out of the marriage because of step family problems, my spouse was holding on saying, “God put us together, we can make it.” Instead of waking up like that movie Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom movie where the pilot and co-pilot had bailed out of the plane and it was about to crash into a mountain, when I wanted to bail out of the marriage as the co-pilot, my spouse was holding on my parachute and would not let me go.

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. Romans 14:

He was my Timothy man. I never dominated over my husband’s spiritual life as far as how much he prayed or got in the word. Some people try to be the Holy Spirit in people’s lives, what I was very adamant about is that he attend church to set a good example to our children.

About two or three years after we were married, my husband started volunteering in the church to teach fifth grade and lead teen socials, so I found God “takes care” of a man’s spirituality. He also decided to get water baptized at the church where we were married even though he had been sprinkled as a Presbyterian, as far as he was open to a different way of teaching than what he had been raised as a child.


If we try to be a parent of our spouse life, we may find that as John Townsend and Henry Cloud said in their book “Boundaries of Dating,” “They will grow up and leave.”

But you, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 1 Timothy 6:11