Never Too Young

Ever play follow the leader? It's a great game, as long as the leader gets you headed in the right direction. Perhaps you have been out in the woods with friends at night and you can just barely see the person in front of you. You make sure you keep close enough to keep following.
We have talked enough about leadership and influence in the last couple of months that you probably will not be surprised when I say that people are following you. Others are watching your example. When I say that, you probably are thinking about younger brothers or sisters, kids at school, or other children at church. You want to be a good example to them, to show them how a Christian young person ought to talk and act.
That's great, but I think we can do even better. 1 Timothy 4:12 talks about being an example, but notice to whom we should be examples. "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, in purity." Paul wrote these words to Timothy, who was by no means a kid (he was probably close to 40!), but they ring true for us today.
Your life shouldn't just be an example to younger kids; you ought to be a model Christian for every believer in our church. That's right! The college-aged kids ought to hear your speech and be challenged to speak only those things that are pleasing to God. The young couples in our church should be able to watch your lives and be encouraged that there are teens who want to live in a God-honoring way. Your parents should see your care and concern for each other and desire to demonstrate love to other believers as well. Your faithfulness in standing up for what is right, even when your friends don't always back you up, should be a big boost to our senior citizens, who need to keep pressing on. And of course, the entire church should be proud of the purity of our Christian young people, in spite of the filthy and sinful world in which we live.
In short, you ought to be an example, a model Christian, for our entire church. You are never too young to be an example to the believers. How do you rate? Make sure you don't sell yourself short-- be an example for all the believers.