EXAMPLES
During our worship service recently, a man that I have known since I was a teenager stood before our congregation to lead the prayer. He is a little slow walking up the steps to the pulpit, but he still leads the most reverently humble prayers. He has a gift of talking to God.
I remember David as a strong preacher of the gospel with a lovely wife, whom I adored, and four precious children. I use to babysit for them, and I loved the children like they were my own brothers and sisters.
His wife treated me like I belonged to them. She bought me gifts; they attended my school events, and they loved me unconditionally. They were like a second family.
David’s wife died years ago, and he has been blessed with a new wife. One year ago, he married my best friend. Mary Edna and I have known each other since we were children. I knew her first husband, who also died many years ago.
These are two people whom I love like my own flesh and blood but not just because of our physical relationship. I love them because they influenced my Christian life in so many ways.
What kind of example am I? What kind of example are you? Paul told Timothy, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (I Timothy 4:12 NKJV).
Timothy was not a child when Paul wrote this advice to him, but he was a young man. Paul wanted to encourage him to be an example to others while he was young. As a young man, he could begin to form habits that would carry him throughout his life.
Even as a young woman, Mary Edna lived a life of purity. She set a Christian example for me because of her dress, her language, and her behavior around young men.
David’s example as a husband and father gave me a pattern for the kind of man I wanted to marry. He was devoted to his family, and he always treated his wife with such respect.
Whom do we look to for our example? There are plenty of them in the Bible, but we tend to look to those around us. Who influences us? We are influenced by those with whom we come in contact daily. We are also influenced by television and movies. What makes the difference is our choice of those we allow to influence us.
What causes us to be influenced? Is it fame, fortune, popularity, outward appearances? It can be any or all of these. We are influenced, and we influence others.
Our children watch us; our friends watch us; our co-workers watch us; our fellow Christians watch us. No matter where we go or what we do, someone is watching, and often they are imitating what we are doing.
Christ lived what He taught. He influenced His disciples and others by the life He led. That is what we should want in our lives. It should make us think before we say or do something which could influence someone else to sin.
The language we use can cause someone to curse, tell dirty stories, gossip, even lie. The language we use can influence others to be respectful and to always tell the truth. Just read James 3 to understand the kind of language God expects of us.
The way we dress and act also can cause others to be immodest and do things that are inappropriate for Christians. First Thessalonians 5:22 says, “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (KJV). Jesus said in Matthew 5:28, “…Whoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Our dress and our actions cannot only cause us to sin, but they can cause others to sin.
Our aim should be to guard our behavior so that we carefully consider what we do and say so that we will not influence anyone to violate God’s commandments. Each person is responsible for his/her own actions, but we will also be held accountable if we lead them astray.
Sandra Oliver