ABSTRACT

This research was carried out to closely examine the New Testament concept of care for widows with reference to its economic benefits: An implication from 1 Timothy 5: 14-16 and to its theological implication is the contemporary time and the church. The purpose was to find out if the contemporary Christians in Degema, the families , the real widows and the government are to obey the order set by the apostle. The second was to find out the economic benefits of the care to the church and the society and to find out if the apostles were discriminating in the issue of care in the new Testament time or not. The method of study was library based, questionnaires and interviewees of different scholars in Degema , were investigated.From the result of the research, it was observed that there was abuse of care by the society and the church in the time past and at such were expected to be corrected, to obey as a matter of urgency, hence it will bring reproach to the church. The findings revealed that the Ephesian community of faith and members of the church are also expected to own up their responsibilities. This is because care for widows is a command to all, it has an economic benefit, it releases the church from much burden and bring about the godly love for which the apostle encouraged and not a discrimination. From these, the implication were drawn for the Degema people, the ministers, the widows and scholars as well as conclusions and recommendations were made.