What Kind of Role Model Are You?

Definition of a role model: a person who serves as an example. What kind of example are you? To your kids if you have them. To your co-workers. To your friends. You don’t have to be a famous sports player, singer or actor to be a role model. Although, those are usually who kids look up to. They watch them on tv or on the movie screen and they want to be just like them. But what kind of an example are they. I saw the extreme end of the spectrum in famous people who are supposed to be role models. Over the weekend I was watching the NBA playoffs with my family and learned that some of the basketball players have to wear sleeves on their arms. I just always assumed it was stylish or helped them play better or some thing like that. But my sister informed me that the reason they have to wear a sleeve is to cover up the tattoos on their arms. If you haven’t noticed, some basketball players have a ton of tattoos covering their body. And apparently some of them are too vulgar to show on tv. Whether it’s because they are cuss words, naked women or gang signs. These are the men a lot of teenage boys watch and idolize. What kind of an example are these men putting out for people to see? Tonight, I went to a Francesca Battistelli concert and it was awesome! As I watched and listened, I noticed all these girls sitting around the stage and some even on the top step only a couple of feet from Francesca. These girls were anywhere between the ages of 5 and 15 and they were taking pictures of her and singing a long with her. If you don’t know who she is, she is a Christian artist and the words in her songs are all about remember how beautiful you are and how God loves you no matter what. I’m sure you can think of other examples of famous people who are supposed to be role models and the things they do or don’t do that our kids are seeing and hearing about. Kids learn most by watching the adults around them. Who are your kids watching? What about you? Who’s watching you and what kind of example are you being? 1 Timothy 1:16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. People are watching you, whether you know it or not; children and adults. I know we can’t be perfect all of the time, I know that I am far from it. But we can choose the way we act in our every day lives and the situations that we face. Sometimes there’s a lot of pressure to be a positive role model; but as long as we are relying on Jesus to help us and using Him as our main role model, we can do it.

~ by scootergirl1978 on May 28, 2009.