What Kind of Man Are You Going to Be?
Two Kinds of Men – Man of the World, Man of
God.
As we grow up, society tells us that we have
to be a certain way, have defining attributes, or do certain things to be a
man. The world tells us we need to be physically strong, athletic, rich, cool,
and good with girls and that real men don’t cry or need anyone to help them. No
guy wants to be called girly or weak and pride becomes the center of our desire
to identify ourselves as a man. Our pursuit of masculinity becomes about us
rather than God. The world constantly
tells us that to be valued as a man, we must meet this set of worldly
standards, which oppose God’s desire for us to be men of God and fall short of
the standards to which the Lord holds us as his sons. We fall so easily into a
desire to be a man of the world and forget all about what God has done in our
lives and how he created us to be men of faith and set apart.
A man of God is called to a higher standard.
God desires for us to place our concern above pride and above the concerns of
the world. HE CALLS US TO BE CONCERNED WITH THE SPIRIT, RATHER THAN THE
FLESH (Romans 8:4-6). A man of God recognizes that the world does not line
up with what God desires for us and directs us to sin. He understands that as a
Christian man, he is SET APART (Romans 1:1). A man of God acts upon what
he knows is right and that he is an anomaly in the world.
Christ as the Example of a Man of God.
As we seek to become men of God, we can turn
to the example of Christ to show us how to live a life that is set apart.
Christ’s example challenges what society has determined to be manly. Society
looks down on men who show love and compassion openly, glorifies pride and
worldly success, and demands assimilation into this attitude toward
masculinity. Christ opposes the perceptions of manliness in three ways:
1.
Openly displaying his love and compassion for
Lazarus.
In a
world that demands men to be void of emotion and to hold back their feelings,
Christ provides an example that opposes this attitude in the love that has for
Lazarus. Upon hearing about Lazurus’ death, JESUS WEPT, a thing by
today’s standards if often seen as weakness (John 11:35). To feel love and to
display emotion make a guy less of a man, but a man of God is called to love
those around him. Christ’s weeping demonstrates the love that he had for
Lazarus. To lose someone you love hurts and to express that pain is often
looked down upon, but we are called to “BE IMITATORS OF GOD… AND LIVE IN
LOVE, AS CHRIST LOVED US” (Ephesians 5:2). We as men of God are called to
love those around us. To show love and compassion for the people around us, is
to share the love of God and to follow the example that Christ has set.
2.
Washing the feet of his disciples.
We, as
men of God, also look to Christ as the ultimate example of a servant. In a
world that calls for men to be the best, the top dog, the alpha male, and to
have worldly success, a man’s value is measured by what he can do for himself.
But as we look upon the image of Christ WASHING THE FEET OF HIS DISCIPLES,
we see an image of a man who is humble and selfless (John 13). A man of God
lives a life a service and places himself in a position of humility, which
contrasts the way world views a man. FOR THE SON OF MAN DID NOT COME TO BE
SERVED BUT TO SERVE AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM FOR MANY (Mark 10:45).
A man of God, like Christ, is a loving example of servanthood in the world,
humble and selfless.
This
comes into play particularly in our interactions with women. As men of God, if
we are not seeking to serve the women around us, then we are failing to live a
life that lines up with who we are in Christ. Women should be cherished, loved,
and served as Christ does these things for us.
3.
Remaining true to his purpose, while on the
cross.
Because
a man of God is held to a higher standard, he must be conscious of his purpose in
life and being strong enough to stick to what he believes. Our example of this
comes from Christ as he hung upon the cross. As the crowd mocked him and told
him to save himself, he knew and understood the purpose that was designated to
him by the Lord and let this purpose guide his actions (Mark 15:29-32). We must
understand our purpose as men of God, to love and serve, and have resolve to
remain true to this as we live our lives, even in the face of temptation. A man
of God has the strength to do what is right even when the right thing is hard
to do. God directs us to DO JUSTICE AND TO LOVE GOODNESS, AND TO WALK HUMBLY
WITH GOD (Micah 6:8).
Two Kinds of Men – We Can Only Choose One.
As we move forward in our faith and look to
the Lord for guidance in becoming a man of God. We become aware that we can’t
be both a man of the world and a man of God. A man who seeks the world cannot
be fully seeking the Lord. NO ONE CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS (Matthew 6:24).
Because of this, we must choose the life we live. You, as a man, have to make
the decision of what kind of man you are going to be. You can choose to seek
the world or to follow the Lord, which may be difficult at times, but is well
worth it. WHAT PROFIT WOULD THERE BE FOR ONE TO GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD AND
FORFEIT HIS LIFE? (Matthew 16:26). The Lord is our profit and our joy. Let
us follow him as men of God.
So what kind of man are you going to be?
Because you can’t be both.
Scripture References:
Romans 1:1 – “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus,
called to be an apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God.”
Romans 8:4-6
– “…so that the righteous decree of the law might be fulfilled in us,
who live not according to the flesh but according to the spirit. For those who
live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but
those who live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit. The
concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and
peace.”
John 11:35 - “Jesus wept.”
Ephesians 5:2 - “So be imitators of God, as
beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over
for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.”
John 13 – Washing the feet of the disciples.
Mark 10:45 – “For the Son of Man did not come
to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 15: 29-32 – “Those passing by reviled
him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and
rebuild it in three days, save yourself by coming down from the cross.”
Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes, mocked him among themselves and
said, “He saved other; he cannot save himself. Let the Messiah, the King of
Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who
were crucified with him also kept abusing him.”
Micah 6:8 – “You have been told, O mortal,
what is good, and what the Lord requires of you. Only to do justice and to love
goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Matthew 6:24 – “No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the
other.”
Matthew 16:26 – “What profit would there be
for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?”
