You Are What You Think

When trying to decide on what to name me, my mother picked up the bible. She did this at a time in her life where she wasn’t even going to church, much less reading the bible. My name, Timothy Daniel, came from two prominent figures in scripture. I like my name. I’m actually a little glad she didn’t read more than the names of the books in the bible and come up with a name like Ammihud Gamaliel for me.

When I was a teen and my mother told me the story of how she came up with my name I decided that I should read those two books of the bible. I was amazed at how much I could relate to both Daniel and Timothy. I got so much from reading them. God really knew what he was doing when he led my mother to pick up the bible to find my name.

One scripture passage that has really touched my life is from the First Letter to Timothy: “Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.” (1 Tim. 4:12). Anyone who has ever been involved in youth ministry is intimately aware of this passage.

The passage applies to all—not just the youth. We are all called to set an example. We all need to monitor our speech and conduct so that it reflects Christ. We need to love as Christ loved. We need to have faith that God will guide us and we need to remain pure in our thoughts and actions.

It is so easy to say the right things to be a Christian, but so much more difficult to actually live it out. Why is it so difficult? I have asked, and heard others ask: “God, why do you have to make life so difficult?” It’s an interesting question. However, it pushes blame on God for our state in life. God did not cause us the trials and errors we experience in life. We did. God gave us free will to choose to follow Him or not to follow Him. It is our choice to not set an example.

So, if it is so hard, how do we do it? How do we actually live out a Christian example. There are many tools available to us to help us live a Christ-like life. One of the most important tools at our disposal is the Sacred Scriptures. This is, literally (according to the Catholic Church), the Word of God. It’s our manual. We need to immerse ourselves in the scriptures—to read it every day. We become what dominates our thoughts. If our thoughts are dominated by the Word of God then we will become more like Christ.