“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example [or model] of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim. 4:1212Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12)).
In the last issue we considered the words of our Lord Jesus Christ as a perfect example for a believer. Now let’s focus on the Christian’s conduct.
Conduct Models
“Be thou an example [or model] of the believers... in conversation [or conduct].”
Our example for conduct is a young person named David. He is called a youth at this time in his life (1 Sam. 17:5555And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. (1 Samuel 17:55)). He is taken to the royal city—Jerusalem—to play the harp for King Saul. But the king soon becomes jealous of David, for others ascribe more honor to David than to himself (ch. 18:7). Jealousy turns to hatred and wicked plans against the one who risked his life to save the king and his people. Saul decides to try to pin David to the wall with his spear.
Does David have problems? In spite of his success over the giant Goliath success that he clearly attributes to the Lord he’s now in circumstances that are most adverse. What is he going to do? “David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the Lord was with him” (vs. 14).
David’s conduct his behavior was a model of how a believer should live. He acted wisely in every circumstance. How could he do this? Do you wonder how he could maintain a clear mind so that he could act “wisely in all his ways”? Read the rest of the verse. “The Lord was with him.” He lived with the conscious sense of the Lord’s presence with him at all times, and, therefore, he wanted to be careful to do only what pleased Him.
Others, too, observed that the Lord was with David. “Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, and was departed from Saul” (vs. 12). Did the Lord’s presence with David make Saul desire it too? No, we’ve already read about the treacherous, wicked desires that were brewing in Saul’s ungodly heart. David was not responsible for Saul’s conduct; he was only responsible for his own. Thank God that David’s behavior—even in the midst of the most adverse and difficult circumstances—was a good example not only to those around him, but to us also.
D. R. Macy