Your Mission As A Man

Have you ever stopped and pondered what your duties as a righteous man are? What is your roll in a family setting? Well, the main responsibilities for you as a God's man is to lead, provide and protect. Let's start with LEAD (if you are the head male in your family and are functionally sane, smart and able.) You are the head of the family in Gods eyes. If you are the second, third or fourth able male in your home your job is to aid and support the leader. It's like the military... Get it? In life, everyone has to submit to someone at one time or another. So get over it. Now as the leader it doesn't mean that you get to boss everyone around like a dipstick tyrant or that your ideas and opinions are all that matter. But it does mean, that in important family decisions, you make the call so....no pressure but....don't screw it up. When you think about it, only monsters have two heads, so why should your family have two? The next part of your responsability is to Provide. You were ment to be the main provider of resorce in your home. I know that contemporary society and our modern lifestyle usally dictate that women and sometimes older children work to support a household. But with all of that said, It's your responsibility first. You are the provider. Do it with your back or do it with your brain. It dosen't matter because it's all the same as long as you do it. (hey... that rhymes.) Finally, you are to Protect. You are the physical security for your family. You're a bulwark, a shield, the first line of defense. Your the flippin' terminator for your family in times of trouble. So get what you need to perform that duty like a fitness trainer: better cardio, Tia kick boxing classes, a black belt in brazillian jujitsu and some Israli Krav Maga training...or you could just buy a big gun. Whatever you decide, you're the man so have a plan Stan.....(he..he.)

No one man wolf packs

Let me tell you about one of the rarest things, in the lives of Godly men. It may be rarer than a Bigfoot or Chupacabra sighting. It’s a relic from the past long forgotten about. You know, like Oprah’s waistline. It’s a Godly man crew. A posse, a tribe, a band of brothers or whatever you want to call it. This one thing, missing in your life will slow your progress in fulfilling your potential. I….after years of knowing God, have been given a place in a band of brothers, And I get to enjoy the companionship, safety, council and chiding of a crew of the most faithful, trustworthy, kind hearted knuckleheads I have ever known. But enough arse shining. I went years being a one man wolf pack and I did ok. Oh, I had real good friends here and there. But over time one moves here, and some, you lose contact with for whatever reason. You know how it can go….. That’s life. And the problem with being a lone wolf is that you don’t have anybody to challenge you and curb your own flavor of weirdness. A man left unchallenged, uninfluenced and unconnected can turn out... kooky. Or at least turn out kooky in some lines of thinking.  Watch that movie Cast Away to see an extreme example. Yeah….. a man left to his own thoughts and ideas without challenge is allowed to maintain and build places in his way of thinking that can be “off”.  These rough edges are in all men, but a band of brothers will lessen them if you have one. I think of it as a rock tumbler. A bunch of rocks (a crew) sit in the same container (the confines of biblical manhood) and get tumbled (life) and knock each other’s rough edges off. It may be over simplifying it but I’m simple so….Now don’t think you can just make some calls and make this happen on your own. It’s only with Gods guidance that I found one. And I wasn’t even looking. But I’ve since learned how invaluable my tribe is to my life, and its effect on me and my family. I’ve got boys who will go to battle with me spiritually and physically. I’ve got men that will keep me in check if I need it. And you need that too. I’m sure that I’ll write more about my boys in future. Just know, that if your best friend is a soccer ball named Wilson, it’s time that you asked God for a band of brothers.

The Knights Code Of Chivalry

The concept of listing good manly attributes is hardly a new thing. And the things on the list are still valid and applicable today. Below is a man code from almost 1000 years ago with some translated to our version of English which will henceforth be called " modern dumb arse English" or MDAE. Read on fellow knights...... Knights Code of Chivalry sad descripted in the "Song of Roland" 1098 A.D. To fear God and maintain His Church. (Revere God & keep order in the Body of Christ) To serve the liege lord in valour and faith.(serve your Spiritual authority in valor and faith) To protect the weak and defencless. To give succour to widows and orphans. (give assistance to widows and orphans) To refrain from the wanton giving of offense. To live by honour and for glory. To despise pecuniary reward. (Don't do things for money or material gain) To fight for the welfare of all. To obey those placed in authority. To guard the honour of fellow knights. To eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit. (Avoid unfairness, meanness and deceit) To keep faith. At all times to speak the truth. To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun. (be sure that you finish what you start.) To respect the honour of women. Never to refuse a challenge from an equal. Never to turn the back upon a foe. So what do you think?

Mr. Jim's hands

I grew up in a culture of manly men. Not Godly men mind you, but manly for sure. They, (including my father) were middle class hard working tradesmen mostly with hobbies and intrests that would span the gamit of maledom. Sports, 4WD trucks, hunting, fishing, chainsaws, tools, well you can finish that list off in your head. Then in my mid-teens, my mom gave her life to Christ. And being a good mother she would introduce me to her christian friends, hoping I would make a christian friend. The first few men she introduced me to were very nice people. But they had soft hands, weak handshakes and a polite, shy demenor. Now I mean no disrespect to that personallity type, but the men I was used to had rough hands, a very firm handshakes, loud voices and looked you in the eye confidently. And being sixteen or so, that impression of what a Godly man looked like stuck with me, and I doubted If I could ever be so meek and refined enough to follow Jesus. Or even want too. I remember thinking to myself "I don't think I could be like that." So that first impression of what a Godly man looked like stayed with me for the next fifteen years or so until I turned my mess over to Jesus. ( that's another story I'll tell some other time.) The first few months that I served God, I didn't attend any church. I just stayed home and ravenously consummed the Bible. I read for hours each day. I couldn't get enough. I especially loved the warrior parts in there. Joshua slaying captured kings and David bringing the bloody sack of 200 foreskins from the slain philistines. And God still called him a man after His own heart. It was like reading a heroic comic book. Even the the description of John the baptist sounded rough. It seemed though he was a loud mouth with no fashion sense. Still Jesus said their were none greater born than him. That didn't seem to be what a man of God looks like today? So what's up?..... I soon found myself attending a small church near my house. (Mostly because I couldn't find a loophole for the scripture that says; forsake not the assembling together of the brethren.) I would sit quietly in the back trying to be what God wanted me to be, what ever it was. I would often find myself watching a man who would sometimes stand in the back during the music part and raise his hands and sway, sing, laugh or shout,(with the music.) and he didn't give a crap what anybody thought. he was about 50, he had longer grey hair and a goatee. He was a tradesmen and was no girlie man. One day this man caught me heading out the door. He stuck his hand out and said hey man, I'm Jim. I shook his hand and he popped me on the shoulder like a friend would and went his way. His hands were rough like my dads and his grip was approaching vise like. I felt like God said; He's a roughneck man and he loves Me. My first impression of Mr. Jim was later confirmed as I got to know him. He was hard working, hard playing, not all that concerned with social nuances or graces, but a Godly man none the less. I remember thinking to myself " Now that, I can be!" So if you doubt that you're the kind of man that God could use. Remember, Jesus chose to surrounded himself with the likes of rough fishermen and commen men of that time. Rough necks were his first choice of company. Heck he was a carpenter and their hands are thick with calluses. God can use anyone, but I like to think that us rough necks are his favorites.

The worth of your words

I would venture to guess that you know someone who says things or commits to things then, like a vapor, the value of what he stated is gone. People who know them usally respond to their statements with eye rolls or at the very least an ignoring blank stare. well it's obvious in those cases that this man has a problem with his credability. A wise man I know once told me "just because it sounds good coming out of your mouth, doesn't mean you should say it." The pride of a man and the pressure to please or impress others can reek havoc on your credability. Being a man of your word is more than honoring commitments. It also includes controling the urge to exagerate or enhance stories or pretending to know things you don't. This may all seem obvious and basic, but the truth is, men of honor are a rare species today. Now nobody is perfect and without fault but an honorable man tends his words towards truth. Not religiously under the perceived judgemental watch of God, but in a stoic, (correct as you go) way that is more realistic. One of my favorite movie quotes is from the movie Rob Roy, when the title charactor explains honor to his son. He tells him "All men with honor are kings but not all kings have honor. Honor is........what no man can give you and no one can take it away. Honor is a man's gift to himself." We all want value attributed to our character. Hence the terms; "worth his salt" and "a gem of a man" or "He's solid gold". So I choose a life of honor and I'll start with my words. And what comes out of my mouth will be aimed at truth as best as I can. So that one day, with Gods help, it could be said of me; "That mans word is as good as gold".

A Tale of two Funerals

Any man worth his marbles wants to leave his mark on the world. It's why we carve names in trees or picnic tables. We leave our prints on concrete slabs, you name it. If it's a spot where other people will see it. men are drawn to let people know that they were there. Men of more affluent means give money to hospitals (with his name attached to the new addition.) or libraries or charitable foundations. So I think you've gotten the point; We are for some reason drawn to leave our mark on the world. But in the Kingdom of God, the legacy that will fullfill you as a man is; the people that you left your mark on. Do you have someone in your past (Or present.) who helped steer you life in a positive way? Who was an example of greatness that you could use as a reference for your life? That is the kind of mark that really matters. That mark will remain forever and fulfill your desire for a great legacy like no other. In the past I had responsibilities in a small church that included helping with the various funerals that were needed. And I wittnessed the colmination of many mens lives. Being an occasionally completive person. I was often suprised to find out the mark or lack there of, men made on people with their allotted time on earth. Some I knew, some I didn't, but my preconceived notions were often wrong. One "type" of funeral that I often wittnessed would involve a man with hobbies, skills, a good career, a house or houses, a boat, motorcycle....you get the point. And he would have a very sad mom and some sort of family all in tears, a few co-workers an friends. And someone would talk about him in the "cookie cutter" funeral style we all know so well. It would all be very sad and genuine, but somehow empty. With no real grand finish to the kind of life a man of renoun would want. Then I attended a funeral of a man in our church, whom I new, but only in a polite casual way. He was a tradesman of some sort. He had a small quiet family that seemed very nice. He drove an old rough looking pickup truck and that's all I really knew about him. At his funeral, people were all sad but somehow not the same kind of sad that I witnessed in other funerals. I heared stories about his personality and life that were nice but then towards the end, people would go up to speak about him and what he meant to them. Mostly men (4 or 5 of them) of various ages. And they spoke with tears in their eyes about how this man befriended them, guided them with advice and by example. They said that he really took the time to show them what a great man is, and the principals of manhhood in general. While the sadness of his passing was the same as other funerals in some ways. It was lessened by his accomplishments. The real reason for the grief was the loss of a great mentor and example to others. This man of smaller stature and seemigly un-notable accomplishments had profoundly effected the lives of many men through the years and his value as a man was great and evident to all.......I thought to myself that's what a man of renoun looks like. That's a life lived with value and purpose. That's a life that pleased God. Lord help me to have that kind of life or greater. A life of greatness isn't always obvious to the masses. It doesn't look like what we would always guess. It's not nessesarily full of things you can see, but full none the less. Make your mark on the lives of others and you will be remembered and leave a legacy of greatness.

The Man in the Mirror

Do you want to be a man of renoun? A man of virtue and valor? A man of Godly influence and deed? Then it will take some real self examination and introspection. In other words you're going to have to look at yourself in a painfully truthful way. aknowledgeing things for what they are.........crap. It may help if you think of it in construction terms. You are a remodeling project, and you need to go through the house and take inventory of what state of disrepair this dump is in to start with. The next tough thing to swallow, is that you're the general contractor who built this mess. Oh don't bother pointing out the good parts of the place. Even an outhouse can have a comfortable seat and a nice view, but it's still an outhouse. And I also realize that other factors and "subcontractors" have contributed to the state of disrepair of your house, but no excuses matter. Because you're the general contractor who "signed off" on it all. So the fault is on the man in the mirror. The first place to start is on the foundation. any other repair you might make will be pointless unless you have a sound foundation. What kind of fool fixes a roof when the whole place is sinking in sand. Well, the self help drivel you can get from the world is just that....drivel. I don't care what Oprah may have told you about being a good person or being a spiritual person. She should shut her piehole and examine her own cracked foundation. The foundation you need is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Now don't try to tell me about the church you belong to or that you "have church at home by yourself" or about your men's prayer bla bla bla. You can drop that mess in the construction dumpster we had hauled in out front. If Jesus isn't your Lord then stop there. No amount of clever parables will really help fix your mess. Don't let your pride continue to keep you from greatness. Only God can make a truly great man out of you and His way is through a yielded life through Christ.

Is that what they think a man is?

Hey boys. Want to know what the world thinks of you? Watch TV for an hour and pay attention to how men are represented. Especially family type men.....(OK I'll pretend you just did but really... Do it!) Well, what you saw was what modern society thinks of you and wants for you. But that's not Gods picture of what a man is. You are the first of His creation. You are the leader of your home. You are the provider of resource. You are the protector of all in your care. And you're built to do it well, by God Almighty. Please don't bach at my non politically correct rants as you read. You will only prove that your estrogen levels are too high for this type of encouragement to help, until you learn to pee standing up again. You were not meant to be an object of ridicule and disgrace. You're not meant to be a bafoon only caring about sex, food, sports, and mind altering substances. Let's work on this with Gods examples and guidance and transform the perception and standard of manhood back to truth one man at a time. The man in the mirror can go first.