How many times have
you ever heard a non-Christian slap you in the face with that statement?
Perhaps you, like me, in the past have responded with the clichéd
answer “Well, don’t look at Christians – look at Jesus”.
If only that answer would work! The truth is – it doesn’t!!
Not even close. The reason is very simple. PEOPLE DO LOOK AT
US!!
We’re under the microscope every single day of our lives whether
we realize it or not. Give us a soap box and we may gladly stand on
it and preach Jesus. Yet have we considered the message we communicate
every day through what we do and say?
When I was an older teenager I partnered with an evangelist in our church
who would walk around our town during the day on a Saturday and preach.
We’d probably call him a fanatic today! In fact, he was a fanatic!
– he was fanatically passionate about communicating the good news
to people. Although some people found him a little odd, God really used
him. One day we both ended up chatting with a mother and daughter. The
daughter attended the same school as me although she was a few years
older. When he started to share the gospel with them the daughter turned
to me and with a look of incredulity said “You’re not a
Christian, Matt!”. I felt cut to the core. I knew all too well
that I wasn’t a great example of Christianity and, if anything,
I probably put people off. It was a huge wake-up call.
In 1 Timothy 4:12 Paul issues a full-on lifestyle challenge to one of
his best mates. He says,
“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.”
Basically Paul is saying “Look Timothy, your lack of experience
really isn’t that important. What is important is that you strive
daily to be your best for God so that others can see Him working through
you?”. Peter was equally compelled to throw out this challenge
when he said in 1 Peter 2:12
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse
you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on
the day he visits us.”
During 2001 we’ve endeavoured to promote the great life that Jesus
offered through the “Life 2 The Max” motto and web site.
In 2002 we want to put an emphasis on encouraging young people to really
‘live the life’. This will therefore form the 2002 motto
campaign.
However, the question that this inevitably poses to us as leaders is
whether we are being good role-models. Let’s consider for a moment
the five areas of example that Paul encourages.
‘Slagging off’ the local church or minister in front of
the young people is a really bad idea! Gossiping about other leaders
or the young people doesn’t help much either. The examples are
endless and, let’s face it, we’ve probably all been guilty
at one time or another. Young people really do pick up on the things
we say. No wonder James put such a great emphasis on controlling the
tongue in his epistle. I think he says it all in James 1:26 “If
anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein
on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.”
The following points may be useful for us all:
-
Listen more – speak less (including don’t over-evangelise)
-
Think more – speak later (think before you speak)
-
Filter more – speak right (don’t swear, abuse, etc.)
There is a very simple bench-mark for us to consider here. Paul says
in 1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever
you do, do it all for the glory of God.”. If this is the standard
then we have to ask ourselves whether some of our behaviour and activities
bring glory to God. The answer to this is generally very clear. Whether
we’re prepared to do something about it is a much bigger question.
Here in 1 Timothy 4:12 the Greek word for love is ‘agape’
which talks about a love that is sacrificially given without any expectation
that it will be given back. This is a love that goes beyond words and
actually equates into tangible action. This is a love that makes time
for people and meets real needs. This is a love that leads you into
the highways and byways compelling those in need to come and join the
banquet. In 1 John 3:17 we’re asked to consider “If anyone
has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity
on him, how can the love of God be in him?”. Do our young people
see us demonstrate practical, sacrificial love?
Example in faith
I remember as if it was only yesterday the very first time I tried abseiling.
As I held onto the rope at the top of a 40-foot precipice the instructor
commanded me to lean back. I want to tell you that at that precise moment
every single muscle in my body tensed and cried “NO WAY”.
I think even my belly-button shrunk! However, upon leaning back I discovered
that the rope was indeed very strong and abseiling was actually good
fun. Had I not leant back on the rope I would’ve missed out on
a great experience. The questions for us to consider here are very simple.
Do our young people see us regularly leaning on our wonderful Heavenly
Father? Do they know us to be people of prayer and the Word? Whilst
we are openly not perfect, is it obvious that every day we are pursuing
a nature more akin to Christ’s than our own? And even when life
gets REALLY tough, are we demonstrating that we are indeed willing to
“trust in the LORD with all our heart and lean not on our own
understanding” as the writer of Proverbs 3:5 compels us to do.
A few years ago as a teenager I attended a Christian seminar about sex.
The main speaker was talking about the eternal question that everyone
always wants to know “How far can I go?” or perhaps better
phrased, “How much can I get away with?”. His answer to
this was pretty succinct. “If Jesus appeared in the room, would
you feel ashamed or embarrassed about what you were doing!” I
have to be honest - this never really worked for me. I always felt that
even if I was just giving my girlfriend a quick kiss I’d be pretty
embarrassed if Jesus showed up. Perhaps that was his point. All the
same I think this “How much can I get away with?” question
is one that we as Christians are pondering all too often. How much alcohol
can I consume? What level of rude jokes can I tell? What adult films
are ok to watch? Etc. etc. I think we’ve got it all about face.
Paul delivers his usual abruptness in 1 Thessalonians 4:7 when he says
“For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life”.
The question we should really be looking to answer therefore is not
“How much can I get away with?” but actually “How
close can I get to God’s standard of holiness?”
Over the coming months, if we are to encourage young people to really
‘live the life’ and develop a great example, then we ourselves
must seek to model it. If they don’t see Jesus living and breathing
in our lives, where else will they find Him? This, of course, does not
mean that we pretend to be something we are not. We are not perfect,
and it is vital that we are open and real about our failures also. This
doesn’t mean though that we jump back into our Christian clichés
of “I’m not perfect – just forgiven”. Our young
people simply need to see that we are fellow pilgrims, working every
day to live our lives for Christ and become more like Him. Surely one
of the greatest things that a young person can say of you or me is the
same as God himself said of King David – that he was a man “after
God’s own heart”. Let that be your example today.
Matt Summerfield
