Old Testament: 2 Chronicles 21
Poetry: Psalm 100
New Testament: 1 Timothy 4
My name is Philip Kirkpatrick. I’m 17, live in Minnesota, and attend Pine Grove Bible Church. Some of you may have met me before and some of you may have no idea who I am. I share this for two reasons, the first is to give those who don’t know me a little bit of background on who’s writing, and the second is because it relates to what I’m writing about. As I was reading 1 Timothy 4, one of the verses stuck out to me. That is verse 12, the NIV version states:
‘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.’
Considering my age and youthfulness, this verse stuck out to me. Reading it over, it seems pretty straightforward to me. I’m going to break this up into two parts. The first part simply states that just because of someone’s young age, it doesn’t mean they should be looked down on. Looking back now, I can think of times that I surprised my parents by having an answer they didn’t expect me to get, or knowing a big word and casually dropping it in the middle of a sentence. Even today I find myself surprised at times by those younger than me when they find answers I didn’t expect or know things that I don’t. Something to keep in mind here is that just because someone is young doesn’t mean that person doesn’t have good ideas.
This also plays into something called a logical fallacy. A logical fallacy is an illogical argument in its simplest form. In this case, it’s an Ad Hominem fallacy. This logical fallacy can be used to state that someone who may typically not have good ideas, someone young and inexperienced in this case, can’t come up with good ideas. The Ad Hominem Fallacy in other words; it is an attack against the person, not the argument or idea they are proposing. So in the case of someone young, it’s saying you can’t dismiss it simply due to age.
The second part of this verse here tells us that we should set an example for others in 5 ways: speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. I’m not going to dig into all those and explain them all. Overall it can be defined by how we act. We should act in a manner befitting a Christian.
To the younger: set an example to the older on how to act.
To the older: set an example to the younger on how to act.
And to all, don’t look down on someone because of their age, listen, and consider what they have to say.
-Philip Kirkpatrick
Reflection Questions
- When have you taken notice of a good example set by someone young? Have you ever been guilty of looking down on someone just because of their age?
- Consider each of the ways we are to set an example for believers: in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Think of times when you set an example in each of these areas. Are you strongest in one of those areas? Which ones could you work on more this week?
Seek Grow Love 