MEN MEN MEN MEN MANLY MEN MEN MEN - MEN (PART 3)

by Aaron
In this short blog series we have talked about what God called men to be originally:
  • Men were meant to be Cultivators.
  • Men were meant to be Warriors
  • Men were meant to be sages.
We also looked at how the fall has effected all of us in how we relate to our original calling. Then we looked at why God brought promises of hardship after the fall and that true restoration comes only in Jesus.
 
In our world today, the gifts of cultivator, warrior and sage are still hardwired into men, but we have miss-used them because we misunderstand them. Let me give you 3 ways men misuse these gifts:
 
Some men abuse their masculinity and become bullies looking to lord power over others like Adam who blamed God and his wife for his own sins.
  • Proverbs 16:29 A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him down a path that is not good.
  • Proverbs 19:26 He who robs his father and drives out his mother is a son who brings shame and disgrace.
  • Proverbs 24:1-2 Do not envy wicked man, do not desire their company; for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble.
  • Proverbs 28:15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked man ruling over a helpless people.
  • Proverbs 29:10 Bloodthirsty men hate a man of integrity and seek to kill the upright
Men who misunderstand masculinity will hate men who live righteously. In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul reminds us that man is the glory of God, being a bully and abusing power is NOT the glory of God.
 
Some men avoid their masculinity to get along (like Adam) who sat quietly and idly by while Satan declared war on his God and wife.
  • Proverbs 3:27: Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.
  • Proverbs 23:20-21 Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
  • Proverbs 29:21 If a man pampers his servant from youth, he will bring grief in the end.
Many men today will not stand up for what is right and true because they are too worried about what others will think, or how hard it will be to live faithfully and consistently.
 
Some men abandon their masculinity to get away (like Adam) who fled from his God and wife when he sinned. Some men will get all fired up about righteousness and then realize it is a lot of work and quit like a man who says "I love you" to his wife and a few years later cheats on her or divorces her.
  • Proverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
  • Proverbs 24:10 If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!
  • Proverbs 27:8 Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home.
True masculinity honors its commitments. A marriage is forever and men will take responsibility for their home because it is their responsibility.
 
Next week we will wrap this up looking at the issue of headship.