Too young

The history of Formula One changed completely when LEWIS HAMILTON (in the McLaren team) won the world championship in 2008. The English driver did not only prove his courage and skills while driving, but he also broke the record as the youngest winner in history. Until then it had been FERNANDO ALONSo, who won twice with Renault. In 2009 another English driver proved to be the best of the world, JENSON BUTTON in the team of Brawn. Since then only very few use the sentence “he is very young, do not worry too much about what he might be able to do".

Sometimes we think that young people aren't likely to do things well. When there is a position of responsibility to fill, we don't generally consider someone young for it, for they would be "too inexperienced". If there is an important task to do, we choose anyone rather than a young person, for they haven't "learned about the hard knocks of life" yet. When an important decision needs to be made, few will ask the opinion of a youth, for he "doesn't carry any weight" and he's got "a lot to learn".

I believe this is a big mistake. The Lord Jesus himself was a young man of 30 when he began his ministry on the earth. Many had watched him grow up and might have said of him, "He's just a young man who speaks disrespectfully to elders and scribes." However, Jesus never thought of giving up his work just because he was young. He taught us that everyone is useful and important, no matter what their age, sex, or physical condition.

We shouldn't pay attention to those who say we are too young and that we should wait until we are "ready" before we do something. The only thing we should do is be an example, as God tells us to be in certain areas:

• The way we speak.
• The way we behave.
• In love.
• In faith.
• By living a pure life.

If, when we speak, people hear the word of God; if, when we live, everyone sees our love, faith, and purity; and if, when we do what we do, everybody can see that it is the Lord who is leading us; then no one has the right to look down us.