Don't Let Anyone Look Down on You Because You Are Young (1 Timothy 4:12)

Paul said, "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" (1 Timothy 4:12). Read or listen to this chapter from Work and Rest God’s Way to learn why God would say do not let them despise your youth. Table of contentsSet an Example Versus Letting Anyone Look Down on Your YouthThe LaPierre HouseholdAddressing One of My Weaknesses as a FatherThe Journey to a Family BusinessDon't Let Anyone Look Down on You Because You Are YoungYoung People Should Set an Example in Five WaysFirst, Young People Should Set an Example in WordSecond, Young People Should Set an Example in ConductThird, Young People Should Set an Example in LoveFourth, Young People Should Set an Example in FaithFifth, Young People Should Set an Example in PurityGrace and WorkFootnotes Set an Example Versus Letting Anyone Look Down on Your Youth Rarely do people with lazy childhoods grow up to be diligent adults, because they’ll bring the habits they developed in their childhood into adulthood; therefore, the best approach is to start training children to have a strong work ethic when they’re young. The work they do depends on their strength and maturity, but even at a young age, they can do jobs around the house, and sometimes even in the surrounding neighborhood. In the church I pastor, we strive to take care of our needs ourselves as opposed to paying people to do it for us. This means we have a schedule for families to clean the church, instead of hiring a janitor to do it. We have church workdays versus hiring people for maintenance and repairs. When church cleaning and workdays take place, families perform these tasks together. Children work alongside adults. Unfortunately, in some churches, children might be the least likely to serve, but this is the opposite of what should be the case. In Ephesians 6:1 and Colossians 3:20, Paul charged, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right,” and “Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.” Performing chores faithfully and with a good attitude is one of the primary ways children obey their parents. Parents can remind their children that 2 Thessalonians 3:10 teaches that people who don’t work shouldn’t eat. Are parents going to starve their children? No, but rare is the child who wouldn’t benefit from the lesson that missing a meal teaches. How many children would work more diligently if they were told the meal wouldn’t be served until all the work is done? Unfortunately, society makes children think they aren’t adults until they’re twenty-one, but they can behave maturely years earlier. Paul said, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things” (1 Corinthians 13:11). According to this verse, becoming an adult has more to do with putting away childish things than it has to do with age. Some children are mature because of the childish things they’ve put away. Conversely, some older people are immature, because of the childish things they haven’t put away. According to a 2017 study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, 57 percent of today’s children will be obese by the time they’re thirty-five. The Centers for Disease Control found that obesity puts children at risk for many chronic health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, joint pain, and sleep disorders. That same year, Harvard Health Medical School recommended children be active for at least one hour per day because, along with genetics and diet, the other major factor contributing to health problems is physical inactivity. Long periods of time in front of screens are the most common culprit. A 1995 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that children are 21.5 percent more likely to be overweight if they watch four hours of television per day.1