"I wanna be that man"

Often times artists--be they painters, cartoonists, film-makers, or novelists--capture in a few moments what theologians can't communicate in tomes.

Here's a song. Let it move you to purpose in your heart to be that man for your woman. For your children.

For Christ.

Shallow man

Does not wisdom cry out,
 

And understanding lift up her voice? 

She takes her stand on the top of the high hill,
 

Beside the way, where the paths meet. 

She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city,
 

At the entrance of the doors...

Proverbs 8:1-3

We are shallow, and we don't care.

As America swirls with greater speed into the porcelain abyss, we get more and more and more talk. We get very little thought and almost no reflection. In the debates that have taken place for a Republican candidate and will certainly come for President and Vice President, the respondents will have 30 seconds to craft an argument. Folks, you can't develop an argument in thirty seconds. You can cough up a sound bite or a hair ball, but a man must build  an argument upon foundations of substance and not propaganda, emotion, and slander.

If we elect substance over form in the coming election, it will only be by God's good grace. Few will do their homework before November.

This past week, I spoke with a young man who had just returned from an overseas mission trip. He said to me, "Mr. Pond, I was amazed because men just don't want to get involved within the church." He meant in the country where he had ministered, but I turned it back on him, "It's not just in foreign lands. In the American church today, it is the women who are hungry for the things of the Lord."

Consider, brothers:

-- Do we know God and his word? (John 17:3)

-- Is his pleasure the most important thing to me in everything that I say and do?

-- Do I even know what his pleasure is? Have I ever read the entirety of his word? Do I feed upon it, study it, and know it?  But I do know how many RBI's Josh Hamilton has.

-- Does my understanding of the world around me pass through the lens of God's word? Do I scrutinize my life and the world around me based upon what God's word says?

In light of that point, I am dumbstruck when I hear Christians talking about the American political process and our government, and the things they say fly in the opposite direction of God's clear proclamations.

Continuing.

-- As a man, how are you serving in your church? What do you do to help the body be the body on a regular basis?

-- Is your pastor bold and unashamed about stepping on your toes, confronting sin in the church, confronting sin in our nation and culture not by standing high atop his pulpit and pointing down in condemnation but by announcing with clarity what God's word says?

-- Has he ever dared preach a message on damnation and salvation? If he has, does he ever not? Does he get past the salvation message to preaching of the full counsel of God's word so that the believer might be equipped to move beyond baptism toward living life in a fallen world in a manner that pleases our God and Savior? 

-- Are we taught and disciplined toward reflecting Christ above all things that we might love him with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength?

We say it. We know it. But we do not do it. It's like loving your wife. We might cover the passages in Ephesians 5, Colossians 3, and 1 Peter 3 regarding husbands and say "Oh, yeah," but when it comes to living it out, our legs are as useless as the man beside Bethesda. When Christ commands, "Get up and walk," if we just sit there, our newly strengthened legs avail us nothing.

Wisdom calls aloud in the streets. God is not hiding from us. We know right where to find him.

When I began my first blog, Ripples Across the Pond, I did so to spur on the men of my church. Our discussions over the things of this life in light of God's word seemed to get cut short on Wednesday nights, so I started writing about those things through the lens of God's word to encourage and prod my brothers forward. Today, most of my readership is women.

Our nation's Founders didn't have Call of Duty VIII; they answered the call to duty. They labored hard at their business or at their farm or both, and in the evening, they fed upon God's word and upon great works of literature. They didn't avoid conversations about politics and religion, those were the topics of conversation because those were the things that mattered. These men hammered their ideas and convictions upon the anvil of God's word, and as iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17), they further honed them in debate and argument with one another.

Husband, if we want to be men that matter in the darkening days our nation's history, we must work. Read well and read deep. Study God's word in all its pages first and foremost, but read widely, too. Read history. Read great fiction. Read great non-fiction.

And then talk. Talk with your family. Talk with other men. Rhetoric has died. "Dude, how you doin'?" is all we can muster. Challenge a brother. Challenge yourself. "Hey, Bob, I'd like to know your thoughts on Paul Ryan as a vice-presidential candidate for the Republican Party," and see if you and Bob can discuss it without resorting to slander and name-calling. If you think Barack Obama has tanked the nation, can you explain why in more than three sentences? How does he compare with our Founders' intentions for a Constitutional Republic? How has he stood as a leader in light of God's word?

Brothers, I don't have all the answers, but I ache for men to spur me on. If I desire that, my hope is that other men might desire a kick in the keister, too. I write these missives not for you to enjoy but to move you to love your wife by being the man God has called you to be.

Let us not be shallow men. Let us prepare ourselves so that when God seeks a useful man, he might find us prepared, ready to be used in whatever manner he sees fit.

"Let us strive to think well." ~ Blaise Pascal

A woman's take on a REAL man

Sometimes figuring out what your woman wants can be as difficult as explaining string theory or figuring out what movies will get nominated for best picture.


Deep down, a godly woman wants a godly man, though she might not say so. How does she need that fleshed out? You'll find that in God's word.

Often, it bears fruit to just listen to your bride. No doubt it will vary from lass to lass, but here's a list from a wife who follows after God to give you some idea. She's doesn't hammer, belittle, or berate men but encourages women to hold out for real men who live by these ennobling traits and characteristics. They are out there.  Here's hoping it's you.

As far as it jives with God's word, be this guy (parentheticals, mine):

A man who communes with his Creator daily and strives to live a life that glorifies God.


A man who works long hours and spends his hard-earned wages to care for his family, [care for his church, care for the lost, and care for the poor]. And on occasion treats his family to a Cherry Limeade and Redbox rental.


A man who reaches down to pick up his little girl when she trips and falls and holds her close until her tears are gone.


A man who gathers his children around him at night to tell them a story.


A man who would never go see a movie about a group of female strippers, no matter how many people were saying it was okay.


A man who researches recipes on the internet and makes a huge and messy meal in the kitchen so his beloved doesn’t have to make supper one night.


A man who treats the elderly with respect and dignity by listening to them tell stories about their glory days.


A man who tends to the azalea bushes by the front porch, clipping them down when they need it and watering them morning after morning after morning.


A man who hops up from his reading when he hears you doing the dishes and gives you a hand [or does the dishes always since she crafts the most sumptuous meals].


A man who thoughtfully answers every question his little boy has about “why?” and “how?” the world and everything in it works.


A man who leaves whatever he is doing to help you when your car breaks down.


A man who gets up at night to fix the baby a bottle while you lay drooling on your pillow [or if nursing, changes the diaper and brings you the baby].


A man who comes home with the new book you’ve been wanting, and its not even your birthday.


A man who has trained his eyes to look away from other women, even when they look better than you do.


A man who is humble enough to grow, long after he has become an adult.


A man who wants you and finds his satisfaction in you, and you alone, after many years of marriage and fidelity [think "marital plane" and not spiritual absolute; then we would be speaking of God as our sole satisfaction].


A man with happy wrinkles around his eyes that prove how many times he has smiled at you.


A man who sets up controls on his computer to avoid even the temptation to look at pornography.


A man who has dignity and modesty and self-control.


A man who refuses to speak profanity and hushes others when they use it in your vicinity.


A man who would give his life for you and the children, in a heartbeat.


A man who says “I do”…for better or for worse…for richer or poorer…in sickness and in health…forever.