Don’t Let Anyone Look Down on You

“Let no one despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” — 1 Timothy 4:12

Do you remember Timothy? He was a young man from the town of Lystra, the town where Paul healed the man who couldn’t walk. Timothy’s mother, Eunice, was a believer, and so was his grandmother, Lois. Ever since he was a little child, they had taught him the Holy Scriptures.

When Paul came back through Lystra on his travels, he met Timothy. And he wanted Timothy to come with him. So Timothy joined Paul, and travelled with him to many places.

Paul loved Timothy like a son. He called him “my true son in the faith”. He trusted Timothy to visit churches for him, to encourage the believers, and to bring back news.

Later, Paul left Timothy in the city of Ephesus, to help lead the church there. But Timothy was young. Some people might have thought he was too young to be a leader. Some of the older people in the church might have looked down on him.

So Paul wrote Timothy a letter. Two letters, in fact. They are in the Bible, and they’re called 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy.

In his first letter, Paul wrote: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young. Instead, set an example for the believers in the way you speak, in the way you live, in love, in faith, and in purity.”

Paul didn’t say, “Wait until you’re grown up, and then you can serve God.” He said, “You can be an example right now, even though you’re young. Show everyone how to follow Jesus by how you speak, how you live, how you love, how you trust God, and how you keep yourself pure.”

And in his second letter, Paul reminded Timothy of the faith he had learned from his grandmother and his mother. “I remember your sincere faith,” he wrote, “which first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure now lives in you also.” And he wrote: “From the time you were a child, you have known the Holy Scriptures, which can make you wise and lead you to be saved by faith in Christ Jesus.”

Timothy learned about God from the Bible when he was a little child, just like you. His grandmother and mother read God’s Word with him. And that’s where his faith began.

Children don’t have to wait until they’re grown up to follow Jesus and set an example. You can do it right now.

Read it in your Bible: Acts 16:1–3; 1 Timothy 4:12; 2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14–15

Dear God, thank you that I don’t have to wait until I’m grown up to follow you. Help me to be an example in how I speak, how I live, and how I love. Thank you for the people who teach me about you. Amen.