As Paul taught young Timothy, he counseled him to not allow anyone to think less of him because of his youth. Paul knew that young people tend to waste much of their young years in frivolous living. So Paul was instructing Timothy to be an example and a pattern to others even as a young person. Paul told Timothy to be an example for the believers in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. Timothy was to set a pattern, for all those who would look at his life, of what it was to be a genuine follower of Christ. He wanted him to be an example and a pattern for others. Paul didn’t want Timothy to be just another young person wasting his young life. He wanted him to rise above the statistics and the general view of youth in that day and be an example and pattern for others to see and learn from. Whether you are young or older, God reminds us today to be an example and pattern for other believers in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. What are you an example of?

1 Timothy 4:12 (AMPC) “Let no one despise or think less of you because of your youth, but be an example (pattern) for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity”.