Man Up! Pg2
Man Up!
Continued…
2. Men are to be the principal provider.
Leaders should provide financial leadership, spiritual leadership and leadership in raising our children.
Financial: 1 Timothy 5:8 – But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Spiritual: 1 Peter 2:5 – you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Parenting: Ephesians 6:4 – Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
3. Men are to be mentors.
Men, we have experience. We have “been there, done that and bought the t-shirt.” But experience is worthless if we don’t learn from it and then teach it. The best teachers are not the experience itself, but the instruction that comes after. When there are no mentors, then every child is being subjected to destruction without instruction.
Proverbs 27:17 – Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
1 Corinthians 11:1 – Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ
Proverbs 19:20 – Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.
2 Timothy 2:2 – And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
4. Men are to be visionaries.
Proverbs 29:18 – Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained,
Life is unpredictable. We have to have a plan, and we must set goals. When every man seeks the face of God, he is sure to receive vision (insight) for the present and the future. Having a plan is vital, knowing if and when that plan needs some tweaking, changing or a complete overhaul is even more important.
Philippians 3:13 – Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
5. Men are called to be the covering/protector.
If you study the differences between men and women, you’ll find that a woman’s major need/concern is protection, both physically and financially. As leaders, we need to provide that covering for our families.
John 19:26-27 – When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He *said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then He *said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.
What a beautiful example Jesus gives us of providing covering and protection. As He is dying upon the cross, He looks down at His disciple, His friend and says take care of my mother when I’m gone.
In so many households today, there is no man. Whether it’s from her husband passing away, divorce or abandonment, the woman is left to be the mother, the provider and the leader of her home.
At times, there are unavoidable circumstances that place women in this situation. But many times it’s simply lack of leadership from the man. He is either unwilling or feels like he cannot stay and be the husband and father his family needs him to be.
There have been many studies of the effects of a fatherless home. Here are a few of the conclusions that have been found.
- 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes
- 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes
- 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes
- 70% of juveniles in state operated institutions come from fatherless homes
- 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home
- They are 4.6 times more likely to commit suicide
- They are 24.3 times more likely to run away
- Girls are 6.6 times to become teenaged mothers
- Boys who grow up in father-absent homes are more likely to have trouble establishing appropriate sex roles and gender identity
We can see by these stats, why Satan wants the man out of the picture and not taking a Godly leadership role…it tears down what God has set-up!
Men, we have to step up! We cannot let society or Satan define us. God is clear in His Word of what a man is and how we are to conduct ourselves.
I believe so many of the problems the world faces today could be solved if men would simply do as 1 Corinthians 16:13 says “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, be strong, act like men.”
