“Don’t
let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an
example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity,”
1 Timothy 4:12
Most
people don't expect you to understand what we're going to tell you in this
book. And even if you understand, they don't expect you to care. And even if
you care, they don't expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do
something about it, they don't expect it to last. Well, we do.1 That’s
what writers Alex and Brett say about the new movement reaching the world. They
call it the Rebelution. God calls it “setting the example.” Both call youths to
do hard things for the glory of God.
Modern thought
has wrought a great disease upon society. It’s called “low expectations.” It
wants teens to think that they don’t have a duty or job – or a future to
prepare for. They can just coast by without making any effort for excellence.
Their choices today won’t have a detrimental (or beneficial) influence on the
circumstance of tomorrow. They can party, play, and squander their life while
just doing the bare minimum to survive – not thrive.
The Harris brothers, in their book Do Hard Things 2, relate this
to the taming of an elephant 3. While it is just and infant, the
elephant is chained to a tree by his right hind leg. Desperately trying to
escape, the elephant yanks and pulls against the chain, wanting to be free. All
that is accomplished is a painful gash in his leg. While he is young and weak, the shackles are strongest; when he – by his instincts – feels ready to break
free, then is he held tight. As he grows older, he knows that a string around
his hind right leg, whether it be iron or twine, will always keep him from
reaching freedom. When an adult, the chain is replaced by that piece of twine,
and the tree is replaced by a wooden peg in the ground. He never knows the
change, so he never attempts to escape. The same is true for us: we’re held
captive by a myth.
But that’s all it is – a myth. Enter, the
Myth of Adolescence. In fact, the term “teenager” didn’t come on stage until a
1941 issue of the Reader’s Digest. The
myth is that youths can’t do anything for God and shouldn’t have to exceed their
comfort zone or contribute to their family’s workload, much less society. They
are subject to the fads, belligerence, and crimes of the world. They are
perceived to be adults, but expected to act and think like children. Today’s
youths are imposed upon that they can be nothing but unproductive trendsetters,
or “kidults.”
Where is hope? Where is there light to
challenge young men and women to pursue excellence? The answers are found in
the Bible. God says in 1 Timothy 4 to not “let anyone look
down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in
speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity,”4 and to “watch
your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will
save both yourself and your hearers.”5 As for the Myth that shackles
us to unproductive mediocrity, he says in 1 Corinthians, “When I was a child, I
talked like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I
became a man, I put childish ways behind me…Brothers, stop thinking like
children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.”6
In fact, time and time
again, these tried and true scriptures have exploded into lives of true
success. My favorite examples are those of George Washington, David Farragut,
and Clara Barton. Each of these American heroes are known for their brave and
honorable deeds as adults yet wouldn't have epitomized the ideals they
represent today if they hadn't had a youth to prepare for their adulthood. The
first president of the United States wouldn't have been just that if he hadn't been faithful as a surveyor. The young American sea captain would not have been
able to manage an unruly commander if he hadn't worked hard as a midshipman.
The founder of the American Red Cross wouldn't have been able to save millions
of lives if she hadn't overcome her nausea at the sight of blood.
Grasp the gravity of these
illustrations: you will only grow up to be the person that you work to become.
These young men and woman weren't great examples as kids because they were
going to be great leaders as adults; it’s the other way around. So many don’t
understand that their teen years are such a gift: a time to prepare for the
future – they settle in for the fun only to be in for a shock when their
adulthood is here. So many adults don’t have the strength to manage stress when
their jobs and occupations generate it because they didn't stretch the
emotional muscles in their youth. Take the extra steps throughout your day now,
because a few years from now, they’ll be worth it. Paul tells Timothy to avoid
the laziness and perversion of the world and to “flee from all this, and pursue
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good
fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when
you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”7
Justin Gummi
2 Multnomah Press,
©2008
3 Do Hard
Things, Alex and Brett Harris
4 1 Tim. 4:12,
16; NIV 1984
5 1 Tim. 4:16; Ibid.
6 1 Cor. 13:11; 14:20; Ibid.
7 1 Tim. 6:11-12; Ibid.
Image by Leaping Lizard
