Sadly, this post isn’t about the 90′s a capella R&B group.
Over the last few decades the term “Man” has been loosely used for individuals that are 18 and/or have moved out of their homes into the “real” world. While this may be true of how the world views a “man”….that’s not all the requirements God has.
*These next lines are my personal thoughts and do not necessarily reflect anything beyond that*
Lately, I’ve been taking note of the fact that Men are no longer the ones leading in several different areas of life. No, I am not suggesting that a woman leader is a bad thing, nor am I alluding to the biblical reference where a woman should not speak in church. What I AM saying is that we let the women do all the ministry work these days. This is not to say that men aren’t willing/able or even desire to lead, but it would seem that it’s easier not to.
In relationships, guys no longer lead the way in pursuing, courting, dating, or anything where sacrifice of pride is required for this area. We are in a time where women get to ask out guys, get to pursue, and in all fairness, that’s NOT how God designed us. In Genesis, God says that woman will desire the position of her husband (authority and leadership) though man will be the head of her.
My thoughts on this are plain and simple: when women pursue and take away man’s opportunity to BE a man…then it’s safe to say that it should be no surprise to a woman when she finds that she is dating a “silly boy” rather than a “man after God’s own heart.”
I grew up in a youth group where the girls waited for us to open doors and even made us do it if we forgot. They challenged us to be the men we are supposed to be and held us to standards that seemed impossible to reach at the time. They made us WANT to be like Christ. They loved Jesus so much that we wanted to just BE like Him so that a girl would just notice us. Not exactly the right motives, but in Proverbs it states that wisdom leads to life and also a wife of noble character. So that being said, even if the initial intentions were wrong, we were being pushed to know Christ…even if we didn’t realize it.
So why is it that girls get offended these days when chivalry shows back up, when a man does something nice for them? Why do so many women feel as though they are treated as “inferior” because of a simple gesture of respect? I can’t tell you how many times I have heard a girl say “I can get the door, I’m not helpless.”
Chivalry: It's a good thing, not a sexist battle.
So for any woman of God reading this, I have one thing to say: Let the men in your life be men. Let them lead, let them learn how to serve you in love and respect so that they don’t resort to doing stupid things to get your attention. Teach men to be respectful. Don’t dress so that you “attract” them. To put it bluntly, if you dress like you want to take him home with you, then expect to attract guys that want to treat you like a piece of meat, rather than the beautiful creation of God that you are.
Long story short (back to the topic of men being men), as I continue to serve at Africa Inland Mission, I see that in short-term missions 80% of the missionaries are female and 20% are guys. I know that most guys and youth groups are up for serving for 2 weeks all over the world, but when it comes to longer-term investments, it would seem that in the United States (I work with the US Mobilizing Region of Africa Inland Mission) more girls/women are willing and able to give up everything for the Lord and less guys are in respect to certain needs. Now if the words “construction” or “youth/sports/camp” come into play, then it’s all guys.
I challenge any guys that are actively reading this post to look through scripture and start in the 4 Gospels where Jesus sent out disciples to different areas and see how many of them were women. Again, no, I am not suggesting women should sit at home…what I am saying …is COME ON GUYS!! We should be leading the numbers or at least competing for them. I know this may sound weird, but if you are a Christian guy, looking for a Christian girl to be a part of your life someday, you have to want Jesus more than she does (or at least tell yourself that). You have to seek Him with EVERYTHING so that you would be worth of a woman of God. Do you realize that she, that woman of God, BELONGS to HIM and that if you want to even stand a chance at taking care of her while you are both on earth…that you need to be more than a childish boy/college boy for ever..you need to be a MAN?
Take a cue from the women of this world and rise up. Share your faith with confidence, do so in spite of ridicule, serve in places where you can do nothing but trust God for everything, and most of all, love all that you come in counter with. God says, they (the world) will know us by our Love. Be what God designed you to be. If there was ever anything to direct our greatest flaw (Pride) to…it’s God. Walk in His ways PROUDLY and HUMBLY…knowing that you BELONG to Him and that nothing else in this world matters if your relationship with Him isn’t solid.
Be Men Not Boys. Serve. Love. Protect Hearts. Guard Wisdom. Don’t Settle For Comfort.
Be HIS
