The Power of Example

Peter and Paul were both in Antioch.  Before certain Jewish men came from James, Peter regularly ate with the Gentile believers, because he had given up the Jewish ceremonial regulations.  But when the Jewish men arrived, Peter withdrew and separated himself from the Gentiles.  He was a hypocrite.  He acted one way with one group of people, and the opposite way with another.  The sin of hypocrisy is bad enough, but Peter's sin was compounded by the negative influence he had on others.  When the rest of the Jewish Christians in Antioch saw what Peter was doing, they followed his example and joined in his hypocrisy.  Even Barnabas!  (See Gal 2:11-14)

Your life is not just about you.  You are influencing others, either positively or negatively.  You are either attracting the lost to Jesus, or pushing them away.  You are either encouraging other believers, or discouraging them.  Your life is not neutral.  You are either serving Christ, or aiding the enemy.

People are watching you.  Your children and grandchildren.  Your siblings.  Your coworkers and classmates.  Your neighbors and friends.  The people at the gym.  The people at the store.  They watch how you talk, how you handle adversity, how you treat others.  They watch how you entertain yourself, how you eat, what you laugh at, and what you do on social media.  They watch your work ethic, your church attendance, even how you drive. 

So what kind of example are you setting today?  You are influencing others, whether you mean to or not.  Are you leading them to Christ, or away?  Are you encouraging them to grow, or to backslide?  To stand firm, or to stumble? 

1 Timothy 4:12 "Don’t let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity."