“Everyone in life has a purpose, even if it’s to serve as a bad example” ― Carroll Bryant
Paul sent a letter to Titus; a young disciple Paul called his true son. He had left Titus on the island of Crete so that Titus could finish the work, straighten out what was wrong, and appoint elders in each town to oversee the church. Paul then lists different groups in the church, elders, young men, older women, etc., and gives instructions for each group.
One group Paul identified was young men and instructed Titus to encourage them to be self-controlled. Then he says, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good.” [Titus 2:7]
Set an example by doing what is good. There are examples all around us, some are good, and some are not. It’s a given that people will watch us to see what we do, to see if our actions match our words. If we talk about loving others, do we do so? If we talk about giving, are we stingy or generous? If we encourage others to sacrifice, are we also willing to follow that same path?
Perhaps no one watches us more than our children and grandchildren. They will learn more from our example than our instructions. Neither Bob nor I had very good examples to follow. We tried to change that for our children. It wasn’t easy to go from homes of severe dysfunction to creating homes of love and encouragement. Sometimes we succeeded, sometimes we failed. I pray our children followed our good examples and learned from our bad ones.
