Bible Reading: Daniel 8,9,10; 3 John 1
“Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.” – 3 John 1:11 (kJVS)
Several years ago, I gave my life to Christ while working for a bank . I was quite passionate for things of God and my level in banking then meant nothing to me. Unknown to me, a senior insurance company executive was watching me. One day he called me and said he had been watching me for some time and was impressed by my passion for things of God. He thus decided to join the workers in training of the church to also work for God!
It does not matter what you do, there are people watching to copy you. In fact Jesus enjoined the disciples to emulate him and follow his examples. John 13:15 (KJVS), “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.” Jesus said this because he was sure of what he did and knew that those who imitated him would end well.
Our memory verse today, 3 John 1:11 (KJVS), “Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.” has two dimensions. Firstly that we should check who our mentors are. You should only follow what is good and not what is bad. A lot of people have joined cults and a whole lot of bad gangs through follower-ship of respected family members, friends and associates. If only time has been taken to examine the action properly, the imitator would mostly not have followed.
Sometimes people, particularly youth, follow others out of youthful exuberance. In my primary school days, there was a young teacher who walked raising one shoulder higher than the other. Out of youthful exuberance, I imitated him and before I knew it, it became my way of walking! Several years later, I knew it is a form of physical disability. If I had known that at inception, I would not have imitated him. But another lesson is that if I had been corrected then I would have retraced my step. So we ought to also watch out for those doing the wrong things and take action correcting them with knowledge.
The other lesson from our memory verse is that we should also lay good examples for others to follow. We need to examine our actions and convince ourselves that they are proper and we would like others to emulate us. Otherwise, we should change such actions.
Action point:
Prayerfully examine your ways and identify areas where you need to change to lay proper example for others and work on them to change.
Bro. Biodun Oyapero