CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
1 Timothy 4:12. Let no man despise thy youth.—It is not upon any official position that St. Paul would demand respect, but on the worth of personal character. It is a poor thing when a distinction has to be made between the man as man and as official.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF 1 Timothy 4:12
The Power of a Good Example—
I. Commands respect in spite of youthfulness.—“Let no man despise thy youth.” Timothy was a mere youth—probably between twenty and twenty-five years of age—when Paul selected him as a missionary companion (Acts 16:1-3). Eleven years had elapsed since then to the time subsequent to Paul’s first imprisonment. He was therefore still comparatively young, especially considered in relation to the elderly presbyters he was authorised to appoint and ordain, a work that seemed more fitting to the sedateness and gravity of age, and especially in relation to the aged Paul, who was evidently anxious to prepare Timothy to be in some sort his successor. Youthfulness is no disability in doing good. It is possible so to act as to win the esteem of all classes. Youth has great influence, and therefore great responsibility. “Tell me what is the character of the young,” said an old statesman, “and I’ll tell you the character of the next generation.”
II. Is based on consistency of religious life.—
1. In speech. “But be thou an example of the believers in word.” The tendency of youth is to exaggerate in speech, and the danger is that what begins in mere playfulness may degenerate into wanton misrepresentation. Speech is an index of character. During the war between Alexander the Great and Darius, king of Persia, a soldier in the army of the latter thought to ingratiate himself with Memnon, the Persian general, by uttering the fiercest invectives against Alexander. Memnon gently touched the fellow with his spear and said, “Friend, I pay you to fight against Alexander, not to revile him.”
2. In conduct. “In conversation.” The young minister should so behave in the Church, the family, and in intercourse with the world as to gain respect both for his office and his work.
3. In spirit. “In charity, in spirit, in faith.” Faith and love are the spring and sustenance of a becoming Christian spirit. The spirit that animates us will make itself evident in word and action.
4. In holiness. “In purity.” The minister should cultivate the deepest experiences of the spiritual life, and be holy in thought, in word, and in intention. Simplicity of holy motive should be followed out in consistency of holy action. The same Greek word signifies a fool and a child; and the Hebrew word for youth signifies blackness or darkness. Few Macarinses are to be found, who, for his gravity in youth, was surnamed “the old young man.”
III. Is a guide and inspiration to others.—“Be thou an example to the believers.” The young as well as the old may be an example for good, and so be an encouragement to young and old. It is a noble ambition to be not the first but the best among the good. A single example of valour and devotion is a stimulus to others. Whilst stationed in Scotland, Colonel Durnford happened to be between Berwick and Holy Island, where a small craft had stuck on the coast during a storm. Seeing the hesitation of the fishermen to go to the rescue, he jumped into a boat, calling out, “Will none of you come with me? If not, I shall go alone.” A volunteer crew at once joined him and succeeded in rescuing those in peril.
Lessons.—
1. A good example is the product of genuine religion.
2. An example of youthful fidelity is an inspiration to many.
3. We should study not so much to be an example to others as to be good ourselves.