My Life Motto (1 Timothy 4:12)

I have several all-time favorite Bible verses. These are the verses that I know by heart, verses that inspire my daily life, and the verses that will be recurring themes on this blog. Today I want to look at one such verse: 1 Timothy 4:12.

This verse says, in the ESV Bible,

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”

 

Let no one despise you for your youth: In some versions, this is “don’t let anyone look down on you”, which I think illustrates what this means well. People have a tendency, especially with teenagers, to think that we are ‘just teenagers’ and to have low expectations of us. The truth is that teenagers are capable of doing amazing things. When we live in a way that makes others look down on us, we will never realize what we are capable of.

Set an example for the believers: Instead of living in a way that leads to bad opinions from others, we are to live in a way that models the Christian life to our family, friends, and church; just because we are teenagers does not mean that we cannot live the Christian life just as well as adults—in fact, we can!

What follows is a detailed list of areas we are to set an example in:

• The way we speak (cursing, complaining, gossiping, etc. are things we should avoid.)
• The way we act (do everything for the glory of God.)
• Our love for God and those around us (they are all made in God's image.)
• Our faith in God and his plan (He knows what is best for us.)
• Our purity and morality (don't follow the example of the world.)

When we do all of these things, we are setting an example to our church family. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you are “only a teenager”; you can still live like a follower of Christ!

Next Steps: Start actively striving to set an example in all of these ways. Pray that God would help you to fulfill this calling from day to day. If you catch yourself thinking anything along the lines of, “I’m too young” or “I should have fun now because I’m a teenager”, stop!

What do you think?

• Do you like this verse as much as I do?
• What are your favorite verses?
• Have you ever fallen into the trap of belittling what you can do because of your youth?