“What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.” –
Matthew 18:7
People who want to undermine the faith of Christians, especially young ones, will be in for a day of reckoning. God takes this very seriously. Jesus said that for anyone who would go out of their way to try to hurt someone in their spiritual life or to challenge it or destroy it, it would be better if a millstone was tied around their neck and they were drowned in the depths of the sea.Matthew 18:7
Here is what we need to remember: we are being watched by younger believers every day. In 1 Timothy 4:12 we read, “Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” The apostle Paul also wrote, “Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example” (Philippians 3:17). That is what every Christian should be able to say. We should be able to say, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” If you are a follower of Christ, I hope you could say that too.
We should be living in such a way that a younger believer could look to our example and find something in our lives worth emulating. What if everyone in your church were just like you? In a sense, it is, because it is made up of people like you and me. And everyone of us either contributes to its strength and growth, or we contribute to its weakness and decline.
It is not an issue of whether you are an example, because everyone is an example. The only question is, are you a good one or a bad one?
