Your Life Is Bigger Than Just You

I grew up as the eldest child in my family, and as such, the responsibility of setting a “good example” for my younger siblings was frequently impressed upon me. Did my behavior always exemplify the standard to be followed. Oh, absolutely not! Nevertheless, I was always painfully aware that the expectation was there for me to lead the way through my conduct.

I understand the need for good examples. One of the reasons I chose to apply to North Carolina Central University School of Law is because I was in dire need of examples. Central’s law school is exemplary. Its clinics are second to none in providing law students with practical experience before they enter the profession as practitioners. Beyond the education and experience I received at Central, I was exposed to a myriad of accomplished black men and women engaged in the legal profession as both educators and practitioners. I desperately needed that. As I was preparing to become an attorney, I needed to know what “black lawyer” could and should look like, and I will always be grateful that I had amazing examples at Central.

In 1 Timothy 4:12, Paul admonishes Timothy, his young protégé, to set an example for the believers “in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” Breaking down each of those areas in which Timothy was expected to model Christian ethics is the stuff that sermons are made of. This is not a sermon; it’s a blog post, so I’ll sum it up this way: Paul was reminding Timothy that his life was not his own. It was bigger than him. And because his life was bigger than just him, Timothy had a responsibility to others. Specifically, Timothy had an example to live his life in such a way that others could look at him and say, “Oh, that’s what being a Christian should look like.” That’s the mandate that all professing believers have been given.

I am writing this blog with “fear and trepidation,” knowing that just as soon as I hit the post button, I’m going to mess up. I’m going to say something I shouldn’t say or do something I shouldn’t do or something I’ve already said or done will immediately come to mind (Yep, there it is right there!). But here’s the thing, Paul wasn’t expecting Timothy to never mess up. That’s an unattainable goal. Paul was expecting Timothy to be a man of godly character. Paul’s expectation was that Timothy life would be marked by humility, honesty, generosity, kindness, regular communion with God and God’s people, trust and pursuit of God’s plan for his life, sexual and moral integrity, and the like.

Would Timothy miss the mark? Oh, most certainly. But those misses would be the exceptions not the norms of Timothy’s character. Paul’s expectation was that other believers, and even nonbelievers, would be able to look at Timothy’s example and have a model to follow. That’s God’s expectation for all who claim Christ as their Savior.

People should be able to look at those who call themselves believers and see an example of what it looks like to follow Christ in “word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” Again, this is not a call to the impossible goal of perfection. But it is a call for us to realize that our lives are bigger than just us. There are people watching us, and, in a world full of compromise, full of crazy, full of confusion, they desperately need an example. And, yes, sometimes that will be an example of what it looks like to repent. That’s a part of being a Christian, too. The question is, are you up to the challenge?