“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” — I Timothy 4:12

I think Timothy is talking to us teenagers in this verse. He says, “Let no man despise thy youth…”!

So what does that mean? 

It means, don’t give anyone a reason to hate you, to blame you, or to find you guilty. It seems to me that when you turn thirteen, the world says, “Here’s your ticket to be sinful! Do whatever you want and no one is going to blame you, because that’s what teenagers do. They go wild. They have fun…!”

But we aren’t “everyday” teenagers. We’re Christians. We’ve got a Savior to represent—and don’t think for one minute that the world isn’t watching us! Just because we’re teenagers, doesn’t give us the right to be sinful.

Don’t give the world, your parents, or anyone else the chance to despise your youth. Let your youth be a time where you can grow in the Lord. Let the Lord shape your life and who you are. Let this time in your life be something special—a place and time you can look back on and remember how on fire for God you were.

So how do I get on fire for God? How can I be a good testimony in my youth—instead of the world’s rebellious teen?

“...but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation…” We should talk like Christians. Not just leaving out curse words from our vocabulary or not repeating dirty jokes. That should be a given. We should be talking about God. We should be praising God. The world should see our zeal in our conversations and the things that make us excited.

“…in charity, in spirit…” As teenage girls, we should be meek, amiable, good-tempered people. Losing your temper is one of the greatest signs of worldliness. “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” (Proverbs 16: 32) The Bible says here, basically, that it shows more strength to control yourself and your anger, than it does to conquer a city! What a testimony we could be by just controlling our temper!!!

“…in faith, in purity…” Finally, we’ve got to have faith that God knows what He’s doing all of the time. Sometimes, we tend to get anxious. We want true love—and we want it now. Where is our faith, girls? Why can’t we put our trust and our future into the hands of a God who has never failed us—or anyone else in earth’s six thousand years of existence???

And finally, purity—something the world and other teens have seemingly forgotten. But we can’t forget it, because our goal is not to please our flesh. Our goal is to put a smile on our Creator. To please Him. To make Him happy. To serve Him with our bodies.

Don’t give the world something to throw back in your face. Don’t let your teenage years be a time where you “took the ticket and had fun”. Be a servant. Please the Lord. Be an example of believers by changing the flow, discarding the world’s ticket, and taking a stand for Christ!

Get the word around!