1 Timothy 5:1 is one of many verses that can be easily abused. Like children in a schoolyard, older men can boast "I am older than you, and so you cannot tell me I'm wrong", citing this verse as proof. Having had this verse used on me before, I have often struggled with it. Was Timothy not a pastor? Did this same Paul not tell him just one chapter earlier "let no one despise your youth" (4:12)? How, then, can it be forbidden, or even remotely unwise, for Timothy to rebuke an older man?
As it happens, the current pastor of my church is a relatively young gentleman (age 41), and so I asked him for his interpretation. I specifically asked how he, as a pastor, would approach an older congregant in need of correction. His answer was that the context suggests that general correction is not in view here. Rather, the word translated "rebuke" carries a note of harshness. Some translations even clarify this concept by adding words like "harshly" or "angrily". The verse continues, exhort him as a father. Similarly, older women are to be exhorted as mothers, whereas younger men and women are to be treated as brothers and sisters.
One thing neither of us noticed in this discussion is that the younger brethren is a continued thought. We are to exhort younger men and women as brothers and sisters, just as we exhort older men as fathers. It would seem, then, that no one, regardless of age, is to be rebuked, but rather exhorted. Since one purpose of scripture is rebuke, it would seem that this rebuke is a specific kind. Correction is not in view here at all, for if no one is to be rebuked, then no one can be corrected.
Tell me, who does not correct his father? "2 + 2 = 5". Well, I'm not supposed to rebuke an older man, so yes father, 2 + 2 = 5. Of course, this is foolish. It is entirely permissible to correct your father. But how is this done? "You idiot, obviously 2 + 2 = 4! Are you stupid?" Ok, now I'm in trouble. But what if I am more gentle? "Are you sure dad? That doesn't sound right. How did you come to that conclusion?" Well only a foolish father would react harshly to such an exhortation!
And so we see that correction is not in view here, but attitude. It is a matter of respect. Respect for the elderly does not involve treating them as if they can do no wrong, but in how we behave when it comes time for such wrongs to be exposed. And in reality, such exhortation is respect for the elderly. Error is not good for anyone. But does the Bible not say "Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you" (Proverbs 9:8)? The wise man, regardless of age, will rejoice when his errors are exposed. Old men who resist rebuke do not deserve the grey of their hair, or the wrinkles on their skin, for they have not matured from their youth. But wise men know that their wisdom is incomplete, and so an honest exhortation, even from a man as young as Timothy, should always be welcomed.