This week, we are talking about the tension that so often exists between the generations. Yesterday, we talked about the reality that, so often, it seems that our default mode apart from Jesus and the Holy Spirits activity in our lives is for the younger generation to discount the older generation as being “out of touch with reality” and view their desire to share their life’s experiences with skepticism.
And in a section of a letter that a member of the older generation named Paul wrote to a member of the younger generation named Timothy, we discovered that this discounting, disrespect, and skepticism that Timothy faced would result in Timothy becoming engaged in dissension, division, and a loss of credibility for Timothy. And it is in this context that Paul makes this statement to Timothy. So let’s look at this statement together, which is found in 1 Timothy 4:12. Paul begins by telling Timothy what not to do, which we see in the first part of verse 12:
Let no one look down on your youthfulness,
Now this little phrase let no one look down, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to look down on someone with contempt as one who has little value. This refers to a person who despises another. By youthfulness, Paul is referring to being young in terms of age. This is not age in terms of maturity; this is age in terms of appearance. Apparently there were members at the church of Ephesus who despised and disrespected Timothy because he was young. There were members of the church at Ephesus that placed little value in what Timothy had to say or in his leadership because of his age.
And unfortunately, for students and young adults, the harsh reality is that there are individuals who you will engage now and in the future, who will despise you, disrespect you, and devalue you and your opinion simply because of your age. Now, if you are a student or a young adult, a natural pushback or objection here to Paul’s command could be this: Well Dave, I have no control over people who look down on my simply because I am young. So why would Paul command me to do something that I have no control over.
If you are resonating with that objection, I want to let you know that you are asking great questions. And my response to those objections; my response to that pushback is this; Paul is making this command not so that you would attempt to control the opinions and responses of others that you cannot control. Instead Paul is commanding you to control what you can control. And what you can control is how you respond when the older generation despises or looks down on you simply because of your age.
In other words, Paul is commanding Timothy, and those of the younger generation throughout history, to not give the older generation a reason to despise and look down on you because of your age. Paul is commanding Timothy to not give the older generation any ammunition for their guns that they can use to fire shots that devalue the younger generation. Paul is commanding Timothy to not give the older generation wood that they can put on the fire to fuel their feelings of disrespect that they may have for the younger generation.
You see, for those in the younger generation, we have total control of what we say and what do when it comes to our response and how we engage the older generation. We have total control over our attitudes and our actions towards the older generation. Paul, after telling Timothy what not to do; after commanding Timothy not to give the older generation a reason to despise and look down on him because of his youth, then tells Timothy what he needs to do as a member of the younger generation as he engages those of the older generation in the second half of verse 12.
Tomorrow, we will look at what Paul has to say next…
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