Conduct

When was the last time you heard, "you're too young to know what I'm talking about?" As a teenager, I thought that, by age 26, I would be officially "older." Unfortunately, there are, and always will be, Christians who are older than me and who just don't respect me all that much because I'm a "young whippersnapper." In the face of such discouragement, should all of us who are "rookies" just give up on the idea of ever getting respect?

Well, Paul just won't let us. In fact, he orders Timothy to do the opposite: "let no one despise your youth" (I Timothy 4:12). That's a pretty tall order! He's commanding Timothy to literally change other people's attitudes! Can you literally change people's minds and force them to respect you? Paul seems to think that you can. Fortunately, for Timothy, me, and young people everywhere, he gives Timothy a few more-than-helpful hints to accomplish this daunting task. He tells Timothy that instead of allowing people to despise his youth to "be an example...in conduct" (I Timothy 4:12). "Conduct" (or actions or behavior) is a great way for a Christian who's "just a kid" to become a Christian who's a whole lot more than "just a kid"--a kid like David.

David is a great example of one of God's servants who was at first thought to be "but a youth" (I Samuel 17:33). Yet, David turned out to be God's champion in his defeat of Goliath. And, because of his conduct, he was eventually "accepted in the site of all the people..."(I Samuel 18:5). How did he do it? How did David overcome "age-discrimination?"

First, David practiced his "conduct." As a shepherd, his job was to take care of the flock. On several occasions, ferocious animals threatened the sheep. David was faced with the choice of fighting a vicious lion or bear or running away. Why would he choose to fight? He could have been killed! Besides, no one was even around. If he ran away, who would know? But, David did what was expected of him even when no one else was watching. He stayed and fought, and he killed both the lion and the bear (I Samuel 17:34-35). No small task for such a young kid! David's defeating the lion and the bear did more for him than protect his sheep. Later, David told King Saul about his bravely defeating the lion and the bear. These brave actions convinced King Saul that this youth should be allowed to face the mighty Goliath (I Samuel 17:36-37). Like David, we can practice our conduct. If we conduct ourselves as Christians at school, at work, or anywhere-even when no one is watching-, then we can point to our history of doing right to prove our worth to older Christians. Besides impressing others, David's practicing impressed someone else: himself. His past victories gave David all-important confidence in God. He confidently exclaims to Saul, "The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of [Goliath]" (I Samuel 17:37). I wonder what David would have said to Saul if he had not fought with the lion and the bear at all? Maybe, he would not have been so brave in the Lord without that past practice. If you want to conduct yourself in a way that will prevent others from despising your youth, practice a little first on the lions and bears of your world. You'll quickly learn that God is always ready to give you a victory, and you can take that knowledge into even bigger battles of conduct.

Second, David persevered through discouragement. David knew that a righteous man, no matter how old, would readily battle anyone who would "dare taunt the armies of the Living God" (I Samuel 17:26). However, literally everyone around him said that he was too young to fight Goliath. First, David's family tried to discourage him. When he arrived at the battle scene, his brother Eliab asked him, "Why did you come down here?" (I Samuel 17:28) and then implied that David was proud and lazy. Then, David's government tried to discourage him. King Saul said, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth..."(I Samuel 17:33). Finally, David's enemy tried to discourage him. Goliath (a giant man who was much bigger than David -that's pretty discouraging by itself) "disdained" him because he was young and taunted him. Wow! That's serious discouragement! But, David did not let it change his conduct. Instead, he relied on the One that would never discourage him: his God. David knew, as we know, that God is always on the side of the righteous,no matter how old that righteous person is! Like David, we can persevere through discouragement by never giving up on doing right-no matter who is telling us that we're too young!

Paul tells Timothy, and us, to actively shape other people's opinions about us. Our conduct is one of the most powerful ways to do that. Jesus says that if we love him, we won't just say it...we will show it in our conduct (John 14:15). Older Christians know this. And, even if they might think that young people are, well, just a little too young, they will respect you if they consistently see you acting like a Christian--Paul says they will! So, follow David's example and prepare yourself to earn that respect and persevere until you get it. Anyone, even "kids", can do that!