Paul said, "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12). Paul says young people should set an example in five ways.

Table of contentsWhen Young People Set an Example That Should Be Looked Down OnThe LaPierre HouseholdAddressing One of My Weaknesses as a FatherThe Journey to a Family BusinessThe 12 Disciples Were Probably in Their TwentiesGod Told the Prophet Jeremiah He Was Not Too YoungAccording to 1 Timothy 4:12 Young People Should Set an Example in Five Ways...First, Don't Let Anyone Look Down on You Because You Are Young by Setting an Example in WordSecond, Don't Let Anyone Look Down on You by Setting an Example in ConductThird, Don't Let Anyone Look Down on You Because You Are Young by Setting an Example in LoveFourth, Don't Let Anyone Look Down on You Because You Are Young by Setting an Example in FaithFifth, Don't Let Anyone Look Down on You Because You Are Young by Setting an Example in PurityGrace and WorkFootnotes

https://youtu.be/cEbcuvyEqf4
Paul said, "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers" (1 Timothy 4:12).

The text in this post is from Work and Rest God's Way. There is also an accompanying Family Guide. Both are available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook. I'm praying God uses them to exalt Christ in your lives and family and encourage you as you serve Him.

People with lazy childhoods rarely grow up to be diligent adults because they’ll bring the habits they developed in their childhood into adulthood; therefore, the best approach is to start training children to have a strong work ethic when they’re young. Their work depends on their strength and maturity, but even at a young age, they can do jobs around the house and sometimes even in the surrounding neighborhood.

In the church I pastor, we strive to take care of our needs ourselves as opposed to paying people to do it for us. This means we have a schedule for families to clean the church, instead of hiring a janitor to do it. We have church workdays versus hiring people for maintenance and repairs. When church cleaning and workdays take place, families perform these tasks together. Children work alongside adults. Unfortunately, in some churches, children might be the least likely to serve, but this is the opposite of what should be the case.

In Ephesians 6:1 and Colossians 3:20, Paul charged, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right,” and “Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.” Performing chores faithfully and with a good attitude is one of the primary ways children obey their parents. Parents can remind their children that 2 Thessalonians 3:10 teaches that people who don’t work shouldn’t eat. Are parents going to starve their children? No, but rare is the child who wouldn’t benefit from the lesson that missing a meal teaches. How many children would work more diligently if they were told the meal wouldn’t be served until all the work is done?

When Young People Set an Example That Should Be Looked Down On

Unfortunately, society makes children think they aren’t adults until they’re twenty-one, but they can behave maturely years earlier. Paul said, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things” (1 Corinthians 13:11). According to this verse, becoming an adult has more to do with putting away childish things than it has to do with age. Some children are mature because of the childish things they’ve put away. Conversely, some older people are immature because of the childish things they haven’t put away.

According to a 2017 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, 57 percent of today’s children will be obese by the time they’re thirty-five.