Day at the Races: And They’re Off! — Monday
1 Timothy 4:12a
Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. (NLT)
The apostle Paul had a young friend named Timothy—a son in the faith whom he taught, discipled, and trained for ministry. After some years spent together, Timothy was placed in the city of Ephesus as a young pastor to the church there, and Paul wrote him a couple of letters to continue to encourage and exhort him even after they were no longer alongside each other. These letters (1 and 2 Timothy) are some of my favorite books in the Bible because they offer so much practical wisdom. This week, we will walk through some of that wisdom as we look at Paul’s advice to a young man growing in faith and leadership.
I have an uncle who used to greet my gusto for life and love of lively banter by saying “Youth and enthusiasm are no match for old age and treachery.” This was sort of his playful way of saying, “I don’t have to take you seriously because you’re young, and I’m old, so I win.” It was usually met by an eye roll from me, because I felt like it was unfair that age automatically disqualified me from contributing to certain conversations or decisions.
Sometimes, our age is a liability to our leadership. And sometimes, that is with good reason. Most of us wouldn’t trust a 4-year-old to drive themselves to daycare, or a 13-year-old to be president of the United States, or a 16-year-old to write a book on estate management for retirees. There are some things that youth rightfully excludes us from doing until we have more life experience and cognitive, physical, and emotional development.
But Paul wanted to teach Timothy that his liability (his youth) could actually become his viability in life and leadership. When a life is well-lived from a young age, it can actually increase trustworthiness and wisdom further and faster than those who do the same thing much later in life. It’s one thing to expect a 45-year-old career piano teacher to be able to play well, but our attention is more perked by an 8-year-old who is able to play Beethoven’s 5th.
So how can a young person grow to be trustworthy and live a life that shows the viability of their leadership? How can they build a foundation of character in their youth that keeps their life steady through the years? Stay tuned tomorrow as we keep reading!
Monday’s Reflection
One thing I’ve learned to do as a young person is to never let a day go by without asking God for His wisdom—and I plan to do so for the rest of my life! Start today by praying that God would share His wisdom with you.
