Students: Setting an Example for Others

 

As a Christian, one of my favorite books in the Bible is Timothy. Timothy was a young pastor who faced many challenges while helping to grow and establish the early church. Paul, served as his mentor and invested a great deal of time working with Timothy and encouraging him. Although Timothy was young, Paul, a devoted evangelist for Christ's message, offered him advice often. He told him, "Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for believers in speech, in life, in love, and in purity."

As a teacher, I feel that I serve as an example and mentor to my students. Like Paul, I serve as the experienced guide, offering wisdom and reassurance to my students. Paul invested in Timothy because he knew that Timothy would continue the message of Jesus Christ after he was gone. Paul stated in 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith." Paul knew his time on earth was ending. As teachers, we must realize that we are passing on knowledge and wisdom to future generations. It is not about us. It is about them. We are here to equip our students with knowledge and wisdom so that our society will continue to be strong after we are gone. Knowledge is not enough though. We also serve as examples in how we live and all that we do.

In that way, we as teachers seeking excellence, can demonstrate leadership. We can help students understand what it means to be a leader, a believer, an example for others. As a result, hopefully our students will not fall into certain negative traps, but instead, stand strong and be an example for others to follow despite circumstances, despite age, despite social pressures.

My prayer now and always is for my students to know that everyday their decisions count, that they are individuals, that they can make a difference now. They can be the example for others in speech, life, love, and purity.

Isaiah 40:31

Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.


Sources that I read today on the importance of mentoring from the Bible.

THE MENTOR RELATIONSHIP: AN EXPLORATION OF PAUL AS LOVING MENTOR TO TIMOTHY AND THE APPLICATION OF THIS RELATIONSHIP TO CONTEMPORARY LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES
STACY E. HOEHL http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/jbpl/vol3no2/JBPL_Vol3No2_Hoehl_pp32-47.pdf


Paul encouraged Timothy to focus on three spiritual priorities of the ministry, including nourishment from God’s Word, training in godliness, and a mission-minded approach to ministry.