“Do not let anyone despise your youth, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12

What does it mean to be young? 

I’ve worked with teenagers my entire adult life, serving in youth and student ministry at every church I’ve attended since graduating college. Watching these students go from immature and often annoying 6th graders to impressive, thoughtful, mature high school graduates is a privilege I thank God for often. 

That growth is often what I have thought of when I read this verse. I learn so much from the teenagers I work with. Their insights, their enthusiasm, and their struggles have inspired and taught me much through the years. As my own children have grown I’ve seen glimpses of the adults they will one day be. And I’ve come to realize something else. 

Youth is not just an age. It is a mindset. A way of approaching life. It is a quality we often bury under responsibilities and social expectations. 

When Jesus told his disciples to let the children come to him because the kingdom of God “belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14, Luke 18:16) he wasn’t just referring to their age. 

In our youth, we are encouraged to explore, to try new things, to express ourselves with passion, to have interests and hobbies, to grow and learn, and to always move toward becoming something more. 

And then we stop. We stop playing our instruments or taking dance class. Stop trying new things or allowing ourselves to enjoy the frivolous. We stop remembering we are a work in progress and get stuck in our ways and beliefs. 

FEAR SNEAKS IN

Instead we begin to fear making a mistake or finding out we were wrong. We consider any moment that isn’t filled with purpose or productivity as wasted. Then believe any altered or fresh idea is a judgment. We think we must hide our efforts to try something new until we have perfected it, assuming we don’t abandon it after one botched attempt, that is. 

Do not let anyone despise your youth. Not even yourself. 

When Paul tells us to put away childish things, I believe he meant the need for simplicity, the selfishness that makes a child scream, “Mine!”, and the inability to take responsibility for our actions. I don’t think he wants us abandon our ability to learn and grow or our devotion to things that bring us joy. 

Recently I had the honor of attending a show by the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony. It was the last show of the season so they took a moment to honor the seniors who would be moving on. 

Even as I applauded them, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness. I remember being in college with high school musicians. I remember my friends right after graduation. 

The truth is, some of those instruments will never come back out of the cases they were put in after that show. Some of the people who worked and strived and inconvenienced themselves enough to be part of this exclusive, elite group of musicians will consider that simply a part of their youth, something not to be carried into adulthood. 

Some studies have shown as few as 1 in 100 students will continue to play after high school graduation.

LOST YOUTH

Similar statements can be made for athletes walking away from their sport, artists relegating their creations to doodles on the edges of their notebooks, and actors visiting a theater only to sit in the seats. 

Sometimes these activities are lost to simple logistics. Less than 10% of high school athletes are selected to play in college. There are far fewer community theater programs than there are high school stages. 

But I’ve watched it go beyond that in myself, in my friends, in students I taught years ago that now introduce me to their own children. 

We’ve stopped allowing ourselves to find joy in trying new things, in learning from each other and cheering others on, in doing things simply because they are fun, in gathering with people who share our passions. Sometimes we fear having any passions at all. 

Life as an adult is different than it was as a child. I know this. Time is short, money is tight, and most of my effort is spent making sure my children experience all of those things that seem to expire with the turn of a tassel. 

But I don’t have to join a community theater group or commit to an adult sports league. I can take a local 30 minute adult dance class or even watch a youTube video and dance around my living room. Maybe I could pull out my 3rd grade piano recital sheet music (because yes, I still have it) and plunk it out on the keys again. I can experiment with my favorite time to go for a walk and place value in that enjoyment. I can allow myself the time to play a round of MarioKart or color with crayons. 

THE CHALLENGE

What I can do is stop despising the aspects of life that are associated with being young. 

God never asked us to become crochety old men and women complaining about kids these days over on Facebook. He came that we might have life more abundantly, and I think that starts with reclaiming those aspects of youth we felt the need to abandon when we became responsible for our own rent. In Psalm 103:5, one of the blessings our Lord provides is a renewing of our youth. 

What is young? I believe it is a state of mind as much as it is an age. And I believe that we, as Christians, should be the first to embrace it.