“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1 Tim 4:12 NIV)
As we see in our opening text, Paul tells Timothy not to allow anyone to look down on him because he is young. And Paul does not by this mean that Timothy should prepare himself to resist anyone who may want to harass or abuse him because he is young. Of course, there are often, among God’s people, individuals who love to impose themselves on others because of their age. These are men and women who believe that anyone who is younger than they are should naturally submit to them because they have more experience. And what such people usually fail to recognise is that old age is not in any way synonymous with wisdom. That is why there are many old fools all around. And it will be unprofitable for Timothy or anyone to put up with the pressure or imposition of such people.
Nevertheless, Paul is not telling Timothy to cultivate a hostile attitude towards older people who may want to counsel or correct him. Rather, he is telling him to live his life in such a way that nobody will have any reason to consider him childish or immature. And how is Timothy to accomplish that? How is he to live to win even the respect of older men and women? It is by making it his aim to be an example of a true believer in his speech, life, love, faith and purity.
Now we may want to ask ourselves the following: What sort of examples are we in our homes, neighbourhoods, workplaces, schools and Christian assemblies? Have we been examples of faithfulness, love, purity, diligence and humility to those around us? Can people look at our lives and see in them what it truly means to be children of God? Or have we been examples of what it means to be polluted, corrupted, unruly, lazy, wicked, malicious or unreliable?
Well, what God expects of us, as His children, is to show forth, through our lives, the goodness of His character in a world that is convulsed with all kinds of evil and wickedness. And He has already delivered to us all that we need to do so (2 Pet 1:3). So, as we face every new day, let us face it with the consciousness that we are supposed to show men what it means to be godly through our speech, life, love, faith, purity, diligence, gentleness and humility. We must not be the reason anyone blasphemes the name of God or is emboldened to act wickedly. And I pray that the Holy Spirit will strengthen us to take these words to heart and act upon them, in Jesus’ name.
Enjoy your day.
Life application: Pick one place today — your home, school or workplace—and one quality from 1 Timothy 4:12 (speech, conduct, love, faith or purity) to model there on purpose. Then ask a trusted friend or spiritual leader where your example is strongest and where it needs work, and listen without defending yourself.