I have ever deemed it more honorable and more profitable, to set a good example than to follow a bad one. --Thomas Jefferson
James 5:10-11, Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
As we look into the Word of God, God directs us, in more ways than one, to look at other Biblical characters learning from them. And oh, what can we learn from each of them! From the faith of Abraham to the zeal of Peter, God uses His servants to give instruction to other believers. He doesn’t just tell us to look to others as examples though, He tells us to be examples ourselves. He says in 1 Timothy 4:12, “… be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
Don’t ever think someone isn’t watching you because they are. Whether it is a sibling, a spouse, a co-worker, or one of your children, someone is always watching you. Are you being an example to them? Better yet, are you being a godly example to them? If not, what type of example are you being?