Good evening. Now imagine this being said in the voice of Charles Dickens. He was a very talented actor as well as play write, so he probably had an awesome voice.
Anyway, this blog's focus is going to be the guys! That's right men, its your turn. Now, before I jump in and get to what I have to say, I want to make something clear. This is my personal understanding of what a real man should be like. Comment a response if you disagree with something or if you want to add some thoughts. This is going to be a little bit shorter than my other blogs, so hopefully you enjoy the read.
Also, as a quick note, I have some friends that are doing a video which has some awesome insight into what the Bible says on this topic. Hopefully I'll be able to put a link on my blog once they finish it, and trust me, from what I've seen, its going to be good.
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First, I want to say that you don't have to be married or have a significant other to treat women like a real man should. In every relationship you have, whether it be friends, dating, marriage etc. it is a mans job, his responsibility, to treat God's daughters the way they should be treated. So keep that in mind as you read single guys.
I like using examples and scripture to back up what I say and support my opinion. To begin I want to let you in on a little secret guys. Now, this may blow your mind a bit, but stick with me here. The greatest man that ever lived is not, in fact, Chuck Norris. Although his many manly qualities and Old-Spice-Guyesque demeanor provide a solid basis on which to be the greatest man ever, he pales in comparison to another. The man I'm talking about is God Himself in the form of Jesus Christ.
The Bible calls us to lead a life that is similar to and reflects the life of Christ. He is the epitome of a man! Notice how I said "is" and not "was." As Christians, we believe that Christ is one with God, and that He is eternal. He is in the here and now. We have been given a model to emulate as men who follow Christ.
But how do we do this? The reason I want to make this blog a little shorter is because of two things. One, I don't have all the answers. Two, I want you to find this out for yourself! A man takes responsibility for becoming a man. A real man can't just wait for someone to tell him how to be a man, he needs to seek it out for himself. Yes, father's have a HUGE role in teaching their sons how to be men, but when push comes to shove, it's the individuals choice. It's his conscious decision and effort to say, "Alright its time to do what I need to do."
Ephesians 5, in my opinion, is one of the best chapters in the Bible to obtain these answers. Not only in verse 1 does it say that we need to follow the example Christ has set, later on, it talks about how a REAL man treats his wife and his family. In verse 25 it says, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her..." Christ literally died for the church. He laid his own life down so that she could live. I don't see why that should be any different between a man and the women he has the duty to protect.
Continuing on, the scripture says why we should be willing to lay our own lives down for her. Verse 26-27: "to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." This charge by God is a hefty one. He wants her to be blameless. Without blemish or wrinkle. In other words, He wants us men to protect her and love her so much that when we no longer exist, our impact on HER life should be a positive one. Like it or not guys, every girl you get remotely close to, you have an impact on her. That's why we need to be constantly reminding ourselves that God wants His daughters to be blameless because of us.
Later on, Ephesians says that we should care for her. This is speaking more specifically to the husband-wife situation, but that doesn't mean we can't learn something from it and apply it to our lives if we're not married. I firmly believe that the man should be the provider for the family. He should work hard so his wife and kids don't have to. Now this doesn't mean he's forcing his family to remain static, what I mean is that he's the man of the house. He is in charge of providing and protecting his family. Think about that for a second now. Men, it is your responsibility to care for your wife and children. Don't ever think you can be lazy and get away with it. You've got a job to do, and you'd better do it. I know this sounds harsh, and I hope it does, because it's in homes where the children have no father that are often the most screwed up. Now, this isn't saying that all single-mom families are doomed to failure. I'm saying if the man leaves, it only increases the chance of worsening a wife and child's well being. If you ever get the chance watch Courageous, do it. It hits the spot on the nail about what I'm talking about.
Anyway, time to get off my soap box. Now that I'm coming to the end, I realize that this blog is just about as long as my other ones. Haha. No matter, I'll keep going. Men, you have a tremendous influence in the lives of the women whether you realize it or not. Especially you guys (including myself) who are dating someone or are already married. If you aren't married, think about your motives in your relationships. Are you doing this just to "get some," or are you doing this to encourage and uplift the other persons life. Are you living a life like Christ's, or are you just "talking the talk?" You can't put on a good Christian, or pure motives face, and hope for the best. You need to believe it, you need to live it, and you need to show it through your actions.
Be a man and don't ever think that don't have an impact on the lives of the women around you. Eventually, you will have to provide for someone else, so you have to be real with yourself and honestly evaluate: are you preparing yourself to let another person entrust their safety to you?
I hope this blog didn't seem as haphazard as I thought I wrote it, and I hope you gain some kind of insight into what a real man is, but like I said, search it out for yourself. Dig deep into this, because it is an important issue. Be imitators of Christ. Real women want a man who's more in love with God than with her.
Ephesians 5:31 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."
Keep being awesome! See you next week.
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