Men, Act Like Men!

February 1, 2006
Michael Evans
  

Men, Act Like Men!

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.  Let all that you do be done in love” (I Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV)

Twenty-first century Christian men have a need to heed these timeless words from the Apostle Paul.

In its original context, these distinctly masculine words were given to a weak, error-prone, sin-salving early church.

Granted, the Corinthians lived in a city that was debauched beyond any modern cities of which I am aware.

The godless mores of this pagan city seemed to be influencing the church far more than the church was influencing the city.

What first-century Corinth needed was not simply more men.   They needed more men who were willing to act like men, who were willing to stand against error and sin.

They needed more men who were willing to accept the role of the watchman, who would be strong and yet maintain an authentic heart of love even in displaying this strength.

Being a man of strength is not simply a matter of being a thick-skinned insensitive doofus.  Sometimes it is, but not always.    

Occasionally I have the opportunity to watch the “World’s Strongest Men Competition” when we’re at the home of my in-laws.  It’s awesome!  Massive men doing fascinating things like pulling trains with their teeth and pulling five hundred pound anchors along a marked course.  If only I had more free time!

It’s truly a sight to behold.  But, this is not the strength of which Paul speaks. 

Some of the manliest men alive today do not have the exterior appearance of masculinity…if by this we mean physical strength, ruggedness, and all the other qualities traditionally associated with men.

No, the true men are the ones who stand up against gross theological error or an idea that is philosophically and/or morally repugnant, or a person who is a threat to someone in their family.

A biblical man is one who first acknowledges that there is truth.  And, acknowledging that there is truth, he knows truth, believes truth and is willing to defend truth.  If you can also man-handle a 500-pound anchor, terrific!

Someone once said, “We are judged by our actions, not our intentions. We may have a heart of gold, but then, so does a hard-boiled egg.”

Intentions are over-rated.  If we do not also have the accompanying courage and words to defend what is right and true and good then we are more like eggs than men.

This does not mean that we should go out looking for fights of any kind.  Don’t worry about it. They will come to you.  If you stand for anything or believe anything at all, challenges will come to you.

Oh sure, we can turn out the lights and make it look like no one is home, but they will come anyway.  Whether we act like men and stand firmly and strongly or whether we hide like little girls and run away is determined by the stuff of which we are really made.

With the Second World War behind him, the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoeller, wrote his now famous confession called "I Didn’t Speak Up,” and it is appropriate for our day as well.

He writes, “In Germany, the Nazis first came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.”

“Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.”

None of us has either the time or the ability to speak intelligently and in a biblically informed manner to every single issue in our day.

However, all of us men are called to be courageous, watchful, strong and loving.

And thankfully we are not called to win all the battles we fight.  It is enough many times to tactfully and lovingly speak truth at the appropriate time, then to sit down and be quiet.  

Other times more is at stake.  For the Corinthian Church, the very Gospel was at stake. 

While I believe that biblical salvation is all of God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone, as revealed by the Bible alone, it is also true to say that we are saved by what we believe or don’t believe.  This is why truth is of eternal consequence.  

The gospel of Jesus Christ is first of all news.  Good News!  Great news!  When the angel appeared to the shepherds, he said, “…behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.   For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).

But the Gospel is also doctrine.  Any time we explain or clarify anything about Jesus we are talking about doctrine.

The Gospel must first be apprehended and comprehended.  Then it must be believed and understood and applied.  The gospel saves.  Doctrine drives us deep.

If you run in circles that diminish the importance of doctrine, then you are dabbling in the same delights of infants whose main desire is to have their needs met at the lowest possible intellectual or emotional expense.

On the other hand it is also possible to fancy ourselves as experts on the “mind of God” regarding…everything. Balance please. 

But do not lose the essential ballast of doctrine in an age that mindlessly glorifies only the “practical.”

One of the themes throughout First Corinthians is the importance of Christians “growing up!”  In I Cor. 3:1 Paul wrote, “I could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.  I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.”

Have courage.  Be strong.  Act like men.  I like the old King’s English on this verse, which says, “Quit ye like men.”  The word “quit” is a shortened version of the word “acquit” which meant literally “to conduct oneself.”

Are you one who always needs the approval of others to do what you know is right.  If you do then you are not acting like a man.

Merely four generations ago in the west there was a deeply in-grained sense of masculinity in our culture.

This is witnessed by the facts surrounding the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. 

Fifteen-hundred-and-nine people drowned or froze to death in this epic disaster played out in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic Sea.

However, of those 1,509 people lost 1,339 of them were men.  Only 114 of them were women and 56 were boys and girls.

Overall, there were 325 men who survived the ordeal, but some of them were the assigned stewards of the life boats (adapted from Bringing up Boys by James Dobson, pp.166-67).

There is a good reason that the Titanic is known as the “ship of widows” and not “widowers.”

One has to wonder what would happen in our day if a similar situation arose. 

If it is true that the traditional qualities of manhood are being systematically dismantled in the fabric of our world, then perhaps these numbers would be reversed.

Or, perhaps even the women would be shoving the men into the lifeboats as they join in a rousing chorus of “I am woman hear me roar” even as the icy waters engulf them.

Now it’s true that even women are to act like men in some things…like standing for truth in appropriate ways and not being weak and wishy-washy on important matters.

But, even in some of the conservative circles of home-educators, there are probably women who are acting a lot more like men than they should be….being the clear spiritual and visionary leaders of the home. 

Granted, there are situations (as in almost always) where the ideal cannot be realized.  However, if you have a home where both husband and wife are followers of Jesus Christ then you (man) should be growing in this area of loving headship.

I can’t help but notice the glaring lack of leadership by men in very practical ways almost every day.

For example, last weekend Karla and I went out to eat together.  We put our names in and waited for them to be called.

Other couples had done the same thing.  The disturbing thing to me was that when the “quoted” time for seating had long passed it was always the women who had to approach the staff to find out what was causing the delay.

Men, act like men and take the lead in this, and hundreds of other small things.  We have to start somewhere!

When it comes time to pay the bill, take care of it!  You figure out the tip.  You take care of problems when you can.

Open the car door and every other possible door for your wife…every time.  If you can make life easier and reduce the stress on your wife then do it.

All the yucky, uncomfortable, inconvenient stuff that you can deal with yourself, do it!  Your wife will respect you all the more for it.

And sometimes you will need to step in and help your wife or family say “NO” to one thing or another (whether it be an idea or activity), for the spiritual and emotional welfare of the family.

The quotable Spurgeon once said, “Learn to say no. It will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin."

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.  Let all that you do be done in love.”  

Not only are these good commands to live by, they are also solid principles to pass on to the next generation, which will thank you for “…acting like men.”