Part Two: 1 Timothy 4:12 - Conduct

1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” “Give me such deadness to the world, such love to the Saviour, such attachment to his house, such devotedness to his service, as proves me a subject of his salvation. May every part of my character and conduct make a serious and amiable impression on others, and impel them to ask the way to the master.” From The Valley of Vision; Confidence. Conduct means “manner of life”. It is the way we do everything from serving our church to making our bed. It means what we do when no one is looking. It means what we do when someone is annoying us, or when something doesn’t go how we planned, or when we go through the sometimes-mundane “daily grind”. It includes our little quirks and habits, and what we do for entertainment. “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” Colossians 3:23 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 Often the way we live our lives can be as much – if not more – of a witness to God’s glory as our words. By the way that we talk and the things that we do, we can, at any moment, be impacting someone’s life. Will we be pointing to God, or showing that we really aren’t all that different from all of the lost souls out there? Of course, on our own, we can never accomplish all of this. We need to lean on God, and ask for his Spirit to work in and through us. Even then, we are still inherently sinful, and definitely human. There will be times we will fail, but we need to ask for God’s forgiveness (and anyone else we may have hurt) and get back up again. I saw a quote on a friend’s wall that said something like, “Live in such a way that if anyone were to speak badly of you, no one would believe it.” I double-doggy-dare you.