Today's Devotional

 

 February 3, 2009

                                                                                                                      

Subject:  We Used To Expect More From Role Models 

1 Timothy 4:12 "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

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Maybe it was The Lone Ranger going into a saloon and ordering milk or perhaps it was Batman and Robin through all of their crime-fighting, never having to swear at anyone.  Back then, the good guys always seem to do the right thing.  They knew they had to set an example.

The world was rocked by the all-time greatest Olympic Swimmer, Michael Phelps, being photographed smoking out of a marijuana pipe.  He came out immediately and apologized and it seems that most of his endorsing companies have called it a non-issue and they don't really have a problem with it.  Well that's where we've gone.  We used to expect so much more from our role models.  

The world can't do it, but believers should be the role models that we expect to see in our communities.  There are simply no excuses.  Of course we are not going to be perfect, but that's not a reason not to try to be.  Yes it is tough to not give in to the things of the world, but that is our calling.

Today many will justify the acts of Michael Phelps, but we should really expect more from our role models and more importantly from ourselves.  I might not win eight gold medals at an Olympic event, but I can win eight gold crowns in the kingdom if I would simply live righteously before our holy God.  I don't need a million dollar endorsement deal like Phelps, I just need one endorsement and that is the one when God says, "well done, thou good and faithful servant."         

Carlen