role models – Moment to Moment (Bible blog)

All of us have an influence on others, whether it be in our homes, at our churches, or at work.

Perhaps we didn’t ask to be their role models, but we have been placed in that position. And if so, we have a responsibility, not only to them, but before God to live up to that position.

When the Corinthians heard about the plight of the poor in Jerusalem, they were quite eager to give and told Paul as much.

Paul was so pleased with their generous hearts that he shared the news about them with the Macedonians. That in turn inspired the Macedonians to give.

Now on returning to Corinth, it seems that some of the Macedonians were thinking about coming back with Paul. And a thought came to Paul: “I hope the Corinthians are ready. What if they’re not?”

And so he sent this letter ahead of time to encourage them to get their gift ready, just as they had promised. For as Paul noted,

If any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we–not to say anything about you–would be ashamed of having been so confident. (2 Corinthians 9:4)

Though they may not have planned to, the Corinthians’ zeal to give had a big influence on the Macedonians, inspiring them to give generously.

And if the Corinthians had failed to do as they had promised, it would have had a devastating effect on the Macedonians because those they had looked up to had so utterly disappointed them.

None of us are perfect. We all fail. And certainly, no one should so place you or anyone else on such a pedestal that if you fall, their faith falls as well.

But that said, it happens. Jesus recognized as much. And so he said,

But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! (Matthew 18:6-7)

So let us be careful. Remember that what you do impacts those who look up to you.

By God’s grace, let us be people that inspire others to follow God, not causing them to fall away from him because of their disappointment in us.

No matter how good our role models are

I’ve mentioned before how important it is to consider carefully who we follow.

There are a number of good leaders out there, but there are a number of bad ones as well.

Because of this, it’s vital that we take a look at the fruit they are bearing in their lives, both the fruit of their teaching, and the fruit of their day-to-day lives.

That said, even if we are following good leaders, it would be good to keep in mind that even they are not perfect. Even they make mistakes.

So let us never put them on such a pedestal that we equate them with God. They make wrong decisions sometimes. They sometimes are mistaken in the way they think.

And so as we follow their example, we need to be careful to filter the good from the bad.

That’s why I think Paul said,

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Because ultimately, our example is Christ. And where our role models conform to Christ’s image, so should we.

But in any area where they fail to conform to the image of Christ, we need to look not at them, but at Christ as our role model.

If we fail to do this, it will get us into trouble.

We see an example of this in Galatians 2:11-13.

Peter was one of the early leaders of the church. If there was one person you would have thought you could look up to as an example, it would have been him.

But under pressure, Peter compromised when he shouldn’t have.

In Galatians, you see that he had been hanging out with the non-Jewish believers, probably eating their food, and having no problem with it…until some legalistic Jews showed up.

At which point, Peter started distancing himself from the non-Jews and only hanging out with the Jewish Christians.

Because he did that, the other Jewish believers followed his example, including a very godly man named Barnabas. And when Paul saw this, he scathed them all for their actions.

Peter, of course, was the most responsible as a leader. But the others, by following Peter’s bad example, fell into sin as well.

So remember, no matter how good your role model is, don’t place them on the same pedestal as God. They are not perfect.

They may be your pastor, your mentor, or even a famous Bible teacher, but they will all make missteps along the way. Don’t follow them in those missteps.

Follow them as they follow Christ.

But where they don’t, make sure you keep clear of the pits they fall into. And as you can, warn them and help them as they have so often warned and helped you.