Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.
1 Timothy 4:12-15
General Andrew Jackson became a national hero after winning the Battle of New Orleans against British forces in 1815. Ironically, the war had actually already officially ended, but because news of the signing of the peace treaty had not yet reached the armies, they fought a battle after the end of the war. Jackson first ran for President in 1824, and then was elected in 1828 as the seventh President of the United States. He cultivated the image of a tough soldier, and used language to match. Jackson kept a pet parrot in the White House, and the story goes that when the bird was brought to his funeral, it had to be removed because it kept cursing at the audience. Jackson’s language had been picked up by the bird!
Every day we are having an influence on those around us. Often we are not aware of how great that influence is. When Paul wrote his first letter to Timothy, he reminded his young protégé that people would be watching him, and that it was important for him to set a good example. We do not do what is right in order to be seen and praised by others, but because we love God and want to be obedient to Him. But when we do right, we can have a powerful impact on others by being an example for them to follow. We should live in such a way that we can without fear or hesitation say what Paul said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
