We also need to be a pattern in love. The object of a person’s love usually is an indication of whether or not he is childish. A valuable ring is always displayed in a beautiful box. When a child sees the box, he may be attracted to the box and want the box instead of the ring. This shows that he is childish in his love. We need to mature in our love. Our love toward others should express maturity, not frivolity or childishness. In order to learn in these things, we should not read 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus too quickly. Rather, we should read them carefully and enter into each verse as if these Epistles were written to us personally.
Even though Timothy was a young man, Paul charged him not to let others despise his youth in word, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. Purity refers to being pure, without mixture, in motive and action. A person who is learning to serve the Lord should pray, “Lord, cause me not to give others any ground to say that I am childish, naive, and without learning in my conduct, actions, and words.” This will take us a long time to learn.
“Let no one despise your youth” may also be applied to fanning into flame the gift of God, which is in us (2 Tim. 1:6). If the gift in us can be quickly fanned into flame but can only be sustained for five minutes, we are childish. We are also childish if we remain cold for half a year. We need to exercise so that our coldness lasts no longer than two minutes, but our being on fire lasts for twenty-five years. Some believers may say that this is extreme, but I do not think so. If we can continue to be on fire for ten or twenty years without getting cold, we are not childish; we have some maturity. There are saints in the church who are old yet still childish. They may be in their seventies, but they are still like a child. They are on fire today and cold tomorrow. They are “old children.” Such believers can serve the Lord, but the effect of their service will not have a lasting impact. If we would like to have a lasting impact in our service, we must be experienced persons, not childish persons who fluctuate between hot and cold.
All the charges in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus can be linked to the statement, “Let no one despise your youth.” Paul charged Timothy to exhort an elderly man as a father and elderly women as mothers (1 Tim. 5:1-2). If we speak at length in a meeting, without discerning our audience or considering our age, we are childish. I once said that when a brother is appointed to be an elder, his wife might feel that she is the first lady. A young co-worker took these words and spoke in a meeting, saying, “Once a person becomes an elder, his wife immediately becomes the first lady.” He then asked an elder whether his wife felt like she was a first lady. The way this young co-worker applied what I said indicated his lack of maturity.
It is all right for me as an elderly brother to speak such words, but it is not right for a young person to speak such things when he has no experience. At the most he could say, “Brother Lee said that everyone likes to be an elder and that after some brothers become elders, their wives regard themselves as first ladies.” This is the most he should say. Saying anything further than this reveals his childishness. The young co-worker who spoke in this way left others with such a deep impression of his immaturity that it has not been forgotten even after many years.
When Timothy received Paul’s Epistles, he might not have been more than thirty years of age. Even though he was young, Paul charged him to lay before the brothers what he had been taught (4:6). Paul also charged Timothy to appoint elders and to deal with accusations against the elders (5:19). These are serious matters. Not taking into account our age or the age of the ones whom we are speaking to will cause others to despise our youth. If we are older than those whom we are speaking to, our age gives us more ground to speak. However, if we are younger than those whom we are speaking to, we must remember this fact. When we pay attention to our age as well as the age of others, our speaking will be appropriate and no one will despise our youth.
In summary, the three “T” books strongly emphasize the matter of character. These three books are involved with the character of a young person who serves the Lord. Paul admonished Timothy to practice the things that Paul had entrusted to him (1 Tim. 4:15). Being diligent is a matter related to character. Paul likened Timothy to a solider and to an athlete in a race (2 Tim. 2:3-5). Whether a person is a soldier or an athlete contending in the games, he must be trained in character. Paul used a soldier and an athlete as analogies to indicate that the Lord’s serving ones must have proper character. Furthermore, Paul said to avoid vain babblings, which is related to character (1 Tim. 6:20; 2 Tim. 2:16). A person with poor character likes vain talk; once he starts a phone conversation, he cannot put the phone down. Therefore, by observing a person when he makes a phone call, we can gain an understanding of his character. The Chinese term for character is very meaningful. It is composed of two words: xing and ge. Xing refers to something inherent, and ge refers to something that is manifested; these two aspects form our character. That which is inward is innate, and that which is outward is cultivated. In 1953 while I was holding a training in Taiwan, I spoke of thirty items of character to the young trainees. The thirty items include: genuine, exact, strict, diligent, broad, fine, stable, patient, deep, pure, just, calm, single, corporate, open, affectionate, ardent, accommodating, strong, pliant, submissive, suffering, lowly, poor, steadfast, enduring, bearing, clear, magnanimous, and grave (see Character, published by Living Stream Ministry). I hope that especially the young saints will get into every character item.
If a Chinese child is raised by Americans and grows up in an American society, he will acquire an American character. Similarly, if an American child is raised by Chinese, he will have a Chinese character. This shows that character involves cultivation. According to my estimation, a person’s character is determined thirty percent by nature and seventy percent by nurture. Whether or not we can do things appropriately and successfully depends entirely upon our character. Our ability is secondary; our character is the primary factor. May we all pay attention to this matter. On the one hand, we should not let anyone despise our youth; on the other hand, we must cultivate a proper character.