Men.... In general
Another day in the office... I decided to wear the watch that my cell group gave to me today; I love you!!! I'm just so unused to wearing watches anymore that it feels a bit strange. A gorgeous piece it is, exactly in my taste; small, sleek, black. I love you, Dele!!!
Anyway, the boss is out of town, due back in the office on Monday. There is not much happening in the office, since the font issue with the current mag has mostly been solved, thank goodness. I was going to tear my hair out over that one.
I was talking to someone the other day, and mentioned the fact that someone else was a 'nice boy'. My friend went off into a whole spiel about how that is so 'uninspirational', and how manhood is something that is meant to be strong, Godly, and awe-inspiring. And I was like, well, but he IS a 'nice boy'! After our quick 'argument', we decided that it's their problem to be pansy, so yeah...
Thinking about it a bit more, I decided on a couple things.
1. Most of the youth I know have the potential to be 'men'.
2. Most of the youth I know might never live up to that potential to be 'men'.
3. Most of the youth I know, I would classify as 'nice boys'.
4. Most of the youth I know really need to understand their 'man-hood'.
So what is all this 'manhood' (and we are not talking about the male reproductive organs here) thing all about?
Look in the Bible to see examples of men. Boys, pay attention.
David, Elijah, Solomon, Moses, Samuel, Peter, Paul, John, Jacob, Esau, Joshua, the list goes on. These are the people that I would call men. This is not to say that they were perfect in anyway. They were human like any other, like the man on the street. I am sure that we do not know them in their entirety, as in how they treated their wives, or if they were extraverts or introverts, and it is clear that they made mistakes, sometimes really big ones, like adultery and murder. But yet they are known as men of God, and till today, are men that we revere and look up to.
Why?
In these men, I see firstly strength. Not just strength of body, although that is clear enough (it takes quite a bit of strength to be a warrior), but strength of character. People often say that beauty is skin deep; I say the same for strength. You can be as strong as Hercules, but have the character of a snake. That is the type of man that is a child abuser, wife beater, brown-noser. Strength of character is demonstrated in standing up for what you believe in. David stood up to Goliath, the Apostles stood up to the entire Jewish religious community and the Roman Empire, Elijah defied Ahab, Moses came up against the Pharaoh of Egypt, Jacob bargained with the Angel of God, there are so many examples.
Strength is making difficult choices. It is choosing to go the distance when everyone else falls out along the way, and facing ridicule and criticism for doing what is right. As people we like it easy. The paths that we choose are often the easiest one, the ones least fraught with danger and difficulty, the broad paths paved with good intentions. We know where those paths lead you. Read the Pilgrim's Progress. It'll do you good.
Men have another characteristic. They are willing to accept the consequences of their actions. Look at David. He indirectly killed a man, coveting his wife, then committed adultery with her. Now, even in this day and age, we'd condemn anyone who would behave in such a manner, even lock them up for orchestrating a murder. God saw, and God punished him. What then did David do? He accepted that he had done wrong, and accepted the punishment that God laid upon him, the death of his son, warfare in his household (2 Sam 12:1-25). Read the Psalms that David wrote after Nathan came to him and admonished him for his transgressions. He is repents, and accepts the consequences of what he has done, knowing that he called it upon himself. THAT is a man.
A man is the head of his household 'as Christ is the head of the church' (Eph 5:23a). Not just physically, but spiritually. He has a responsibilty to maintain his walk with God in order that his household will continually be under the Headship of Christ. Continuing on with that analogy, if the head dies, so does the whole body. When the mind is ill, the body responds. Get it? Some people like to take this verse and run away with it, saying that since I'm the head of the household, whatever I say goes. I say think again. Further down, 'Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her' (Eph 5:25). With power comes responsibility, so said Uncle Ben to Peter Parker.
Sadly, there are so few men to be found these days, and I do not wholly blame 'nice boys' for remaining 'nice boys' all their lives. I blame the people around them who tell them that standing out is not desirable, I blame their parents for sheltering them from the consequences of their choices, I blame girlfriends for taking over and beating them down (I know, I do it too) in the name of female empowerment. I blame older men for not setting an example for the younger to follow. I blame the media for warping the world's view of manhood, glorifying money, sex, power, the objectification of women, materialism, and outward appearance over the formation of character.
As a young adult, I start to see the differences between the people that I used to find attractive versus the people I find attractive now. Appearances and all of that used to count for a lot; a hot body, cute face. Not to say I don't like a hot body (oh yeah, baby), but after a while, a body without anything to back it up just doesn't do it. You could be smokin' hot, but if you can't carry on a conversation, slap your girlfriend around, lie, cheat, and otherwise be a complete snake, with the morals of a jackrabbit (sorry, dear rabbit, don't mean to demean you) then you aren't very hot anymore, are you? Give me character, morals, responsibility, over a hot body anytime. Though if you can find both, keep it! :-)
Kisses,
Amy
Anyway, the boss is out of town, due back in the office on Monday. There is not much happening in the office, since the font issue with the current mag has mostly been solved, thank goodness. I was going to tear my hair out over that one.
I was talking to someone the other day, and mentioned the fact that someone else was a 'nice boy'. My friend went off into a whole spiel about how that is so 'uninspirational', and how manhood is something that is meant to be strong, Godly, and awe-inspiring. And I was like, well, but he IS a 'nice boy'! After our quick 'argument', we decided that it's their problem to be pansy, so yeah...
Thinking about it a bit more, I decided on a couple things.
1. Most of the youth I know have the potential to be 'men'.
2. Most of the youth I know might never live up to that potential to be 'men'.
3. Most of the youth I know, I would classify as 'nice boys'.
4. Most of the youth I know really need to understand their 'man-hood'.
So what is all this 'manhood' (and we are not talking about the male reproductive organs here) thing all about?
Look in the Bible to see examples of men. Boys, pay attention.
David, Elijah, Solomon, Moses, Samuel, Peter, Paul, John, Jacob, Esau, Joshua, the list goes on. These are the people that I would call men. This is not to say that they were perfect in anyway. They were human like any other, like the man on the street. I am sure that we do not know them in their entirety, as in how they treated their wives, or if they were extraverts or introverts, and it is clear that they made mistakes, sometimes really big ones, like adultery and murder. But yet they are known as men of God, and till today, are men that we revere and look up to.
Why?
In these men, I see firstly strength. Not just strength of body, although that is clear enough (it takes quite a bit of strength to be a warrior), but strength of character. People often say that beauty is skin deep; I say the same for strength. You can be as strong as Hercules, but have the character of a snake. That is the type of man that is a child abuser, wife beater, brown-noser. Strength of character is demonstrated in standing up for what you believe in. David stood up to Goliath, the Apostles stood up to the entire Jewish religious community and the Roman Empire, Elijah defied Ahab, Moses came up against the Pharaoh of Egypt, Jacob bargained with the Angel of God, there are so many examples.
Strength is making difficult choices. It is choosing to go the distance when everyone else falls out along the way, and facing ridicule and criticism for doing what is right. As people we like it easy. The paths that we choose are often the easiest one, the ones least fraught with danger and difficulty, the broad paths paved with good intentions. We know where those paths lead you. Read the Pilgrim's Progress. It'll do you good.
Men have another characteristic. They are willing to accept the consequences of their actions. Look at David. He indirectly killed a man, coveting his wife, then committed adultery with her. Now, even in this day and age, we'd condemn anyone who would behave in such a manner, even lock them up for orchestrating a murder. God saw, and God punished him. What then did David do? He accepted that he had done wrong, and accepted the punishment that God laid upon him, the death of his son, warfare in his household (2 Sam 12:1-25). Read the Psalms that David wrote after Nathan came to him and admonished him for his transgressions. He is repents, and accepts the consequences of what he has done, knowing that he called it upon himself. THAT is a man.
A man is the head of his household 'as Christ is the head of the church' (Eph 5:23a). Not just physically, but spiritually. He has a responsibilty to maintain his walk with God in order that his household will continually be under the Headship of Christ. Continuing on with that analogy, if the head dies, so does the whole body. When the mind is ill, the body responds. Get it? Some people like to take this verse and run away with it, saying that since I'm the head of the household, whatever I say goes. I say think again. Further down, 'Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her' (Eph 5:25). With power comes responsibility, so said Uncle Ben to Peter Parker.
Sadly, there are so few men to be found these days, and I do not wholly blame 'nice boys' for remaining 'nice boys' all their lives. I blame the people around them who tell them that standing out is not desirable, I blame their parents for sheltering them from the consequences of their choices, I blame girlfriends for taking over and beating them down (I know, I do it too) in the name of female empowerment. I blame older men for not setting an example for the younger to follow. I blame the media for warping the world's view of manhood, glorifying money, sex, power, the objectification of women, materialism, and outward appearance over the formation of character.
As a young adult, I start to see the differences between the people that I used to find attractive versus the people I find attractive now. Appearances and all of that used to count for a lot; a hot body, cute face. Not to say I don't like a hot body (oh yeah, baby), but after a while, a body without anything to back it up just doesn't do it. You could be smokin' hot, but if you can't carry on a conversation, slap your girlfriend around, lie, cheat, and otherwise be a complete snake, with the morals of a jackrabbit (sorry, dear rabbit, don't mean to demean you) then you aren't very hot anymore, are you? Give me character, morals, responsibility, over a hot body anytime. Though if you can find both, keep it! :-)
Kisses,
Amy
posted by butterflyblade at 10:08 AM
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