1 Timothy 4:12 Explained

For this week’s post for Blog Thursday post, we will be taking a closer look into our lead verse and our point of inspiration as young men and women of God aspiring to follow in the footsteps of Jesus to encourage and strengthen one another for the work, we are each called to do. 1 Timothy 4:12 reads, “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 purity.” This verse, which is also the lead verse for this ministry, helps us to stay encouraged to serve in the house of God, and not only that, but it also gives us a guideline as to how we can maintain the standard that is required to set an example. Many times, we as young people can be challenged with many things of this world and can find it easier to follow our desires rather than following the will of God. Whether it is in our conduct, love, faith, or even purity, we can all think of a time when we have found it hard to honor God in those areas of our lives. That is an undeniable truth. However, Paul makes it his mission to put details into what is expected of Timothy as a young man despite the challenges that he might face. The interesting part of all this is the fact that these two parts of the verse work together. Meaning, it is when we set an example for the believers in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, that we will find the strength and the confidence to not let anyone look down on us because of our age or even years of experience. Since our believers, we are taught to always practice self-control and focus on our shortcomings and work on them, I want this post to be a reminder of the fact that confidence can be affected by our actions and how we handle the anointing that is placed upon us.

Speech

"Say what you mean and mean what you say". I am sure many of us have heard that quote. However, how many times have we caught ourselves lying, malice or even slandering and gossiping in a child-like manner that lacks compassion? As believers, it is our responsibility to learn how to regulate our emotions and express our feelings with words keeping in mind that we first must honor God with those words which will then result in benefiting our neighbours or those we serve.

Conduct

From major business places to individual households, conduct is the main reason that there is an order in which people can know their rights and responsibilities and live according to them. As believers, it is our responsibility to search and know the scripture about how we ought to conduct ourselves among fellow believers. If we are called to lead, our leadership should be guided solely by scripture and not by our emotions since we represent God.

Love

What is Love? Does it only seek to encourage and support while speaking positive words to someone and not seek to rebuke and correct? No. God is Love, that is his nature. God encourages, uplifts, supports, and leads, but God also rebukes and disciplines in times when it is much needed. How many of us have a thwarted view of Love, especially as those who live today where grace, love, and mercy are the three favorite words that flow out of every believer’s mouth only to be abused by our actions? I would find it very important to me personally that someone who professes to love me would be just as passionate in telling me I am in the wrong place for the sake of saving my soul. If we truly love our brothers and sisters, then we must make it our mission to also stand by the word of God. The Agape love of God, which is the very nature of God himself, is made available through Christ for us to show one another in the house of God. The agape love is a genuine love that seeks our well-being and does not shy away from discipline. Once again, if we say we love a brother and sister then we must also look at the times we were honest enough with them to let them know when they were in the wrong. Overall, there are many ways we can show love in the house of God, so I will leave the rest of this section to you to think of how you can display this agape love to another believer.

Faith

Faith, according to the writer of Hebrews, is what was the driving force of those who were before us. When Abraham reached his old age and Sarah’s womb was even described as dead, it was by Faith that Abraham was able to hold on to the promise God made and finally got to see it come to fruition. As believers, we must make it our mission that faith becomes our priority and we do not become dependent on what is seen. If we become dependent on what is seen, then we will soon come to find out that it is the weakest foundation to build our relationship with God.

Purity

Last but most definitely not least, we have purity. Purity is defined as ‘freedom from adulteration or contamination’ (Merriam-Webster). With the alarming rise of social media and exposure to various types of content available in the palm of our hands, we must make it our mission to keep ourselves pure for the glory of God. By seeking to honor God and asking God for his grace daily, we should take action to remove anything or even anyone from our social media sites, and our daily interactions that we know are causing us to become occupied with all unnecessary matters. As young men and women of God, the devil is at a high time against all matters of purity and wants to use it against us to draw us away from God so we must bite our flesh, count the cost, and never be afraid to block, unfollow and even upset some individuals if we are sure that God is in it with us.

There is so much more to be said about this single verse, but the points will help us gain a better insight into what it means to honor God in our youth and how we can preserve the anointed that we hold. Let’s all remember that it is when we seek to live our life right and show it in our speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity that we can be confident to stand in the house of God with the calling that he has placed upon us. Keeping in mind that it is also important we keep each other accountable as members of one body, we should all strive for the well-being of one another prioritizing the kingdom of God. It might seem as if everything in this world is against us and taking advantage of our youth and vulnerabilities, but we don’t have a God that calls but doesn’t equip so we must rely on him to get us through every stage of life. May the grace of God continue to strengthen us as we live out our lives by the outline of this verse for the glory of God and the flourishing of the church