Act Like Men

The purpose of The Huntsman is to help men find success in things that matter. Why?Because we are called to. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 states, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” 

Be watchful: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” That quote is often attributed to Edmund Burke, though no record of him saying those exact words are recorded. He did however state, “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle”.

We should be watchful of those who speak of tolerance, but only the tolerance of  their choosing. Be watchful of those who repeat the word of God, but do not show love for those who are oppressed or different from them. Be watchful for the slow systematic dilution of our values, of our constitution, and our rights. Be watchful of the foolish who are too passive to seek the truth and are swayed by the absolute idiocy of communism and socialism.

Stand firm in the faith: 1 Chronicles 28:20 “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid, do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you.” We must stand firm in faith for our savior Jesus Christ. I always think of Peter and John when they were called up by the government and religious leaders and told to keep their mouths shut (the same thing is happening today). Their response, needs to be our response: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard!”

Act like men: There are plenty of boys who shave these days. Those who wish to reinvent (destroy) the culture of America promote many ideas to neuter men in our society. Why, because if there aren’t enough men to stand as warriors we will topple without even fighting. Richard Lewis defined manhood using the acronym REAL.  A Real man:

• Rejects Passivity
• Expects God’s greater reward
• Accepts responsibility
• Leads courageously

Are you living Richard’s definition? Who are men listening to? Where are they? How have we forgotten to act like men? Make a choice, man up!

God, the great Huntsman, gave us a map on how to act like a man. Follow it!        Ephesians 5 & 6 paraphrased:

1. Follow and obey God in all things!
2. Love your wife and place her above your yourself!
3. Love your children and teach them the ways of the Lord ( if you have sons this is so they can become men)!
4. Do your job! We were designed to work, not whine. Whatever you do, do it in a manner as if you are working for God, not for man or to glorify yourself!
5. Be on mission with God. In a few words God laid it out for men: Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men. We are called to share the good news with others. God is real. He loved us so much he sent his only son as a sacrifice for our sins, that we may know love, peace, power and strength.

 

Be strong: While we need to take care of our bodies to be able to fight the battle, we need to be strong where it matters most. Men need to be standing strong for God, for morality, for this country and yes for our national anthem. While we stood by weakly, our culture has passed right on by immorality to our current amoral society.  While immorality is evil, amorality is lacking a moral sense; unconcerned with the rightness or wrongness of something. Morality is standing on unchanging, solid rock and it is defined by the word of God, creator of all. Immorality is the evil that exists in the world with a sole purpose of destroying that rock. While this is total futility (God wins, and we win with him), this foundation can be swept away for those who don’t stand firm with God. Amorality is the result of immoral people’s effort to deceive people into thinking an absolute morality is not applicable (PC) in this day and age, and they have got it done. We no longer have the luxury (never did) of passively going about our business and lives. We must take responsibility and lead courageously to defend morality, our families and the faith.

Let all things be done in love: It boggles my mind that there is one word which when spoken causes such hatred and vitriol to spew forth across the world and this country. What is that word? Actually it is the name of a man. His name is “Jesus”. Read the words and teachings of Jesus. He commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to serve others above ourselves. To let all things be done in love.

How can that be wrong, how can that provoke anger, hatred and violence? The answer, it can only do so when subverted by the foolishness and selfish desires of men and the great deceiver who lives only to destroy. So as men, we must not let this happen on our watch. One more time…. be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all things be done in love. Through Christ, God teaches us an incredible of example of his love. No matter our race, our mistakes, our sins, there is a forgiveness and a grace that is beyond our imagination. At the Huntsman our job is to share this love so men can rise up, be strong and share it with those in need. And, we all need it.