5:3–16 · Widows and female benefactors: The first part of this section (5:3–8) treats widows whose poverty qualifies them to come under the care of the church. Even though the church is to think of itself as a family (see 3:15, “God’s household”), the church is not a substitute for families. If there are “children or grandchildren” of a widow, these family members show their godliness (“put their religion into practice” [5:4a]; this is also the sense of 5:8) and their sense of justice (“repaying their parents and grandparents” [5:4b]) by providing for their own widowed grandmothers and mothers. However, if there is no family or if a family has insufficient resources to keep widows from sliding into poverty, Paul expects Christians to practice the relief for widows called for in the Old Te…