Being a Christian man is weak? Really?
First St Johns June 15, 2014

Father, we thank you that we are your men and women, that you raise up Christian men in honor and dignity. You expect a lot from those men who know Christ as their Lord and Savior, but you also give them the assurance of your presence and guidance. The Bible says David was a man after God’s own heart, a real man. A real man who did dumb things, as all men do, but also stood for You, honored You. When David did those “dumb things”, when he sinned, he didn’t run away, whining, blaming everyone else, like men in the world do. He stood up, took his correction and went back out and became a better servant of yours. You honor women; Mary, Abigail, the women who supported Jesus, Deborah, Esther, faithful Christian women here, but it seems Lord you have a special place for truly Christian men. Christian men today, endure a lot, take a lot of cheap guff from the world. Why? Because men in the world are cowards and bullies and think they can get away with it. Father, You don’t raise us to look for trouble, be belligerent big mouths and bullies, but you also didn’t raise us to run away, to escape when we are called on to be men of integrity. You help us Father to know when we need to take a stand for our family, for the things that are true and upright and of course for You, for Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus stood up to the evil of the world and was crucified, but was killed as a sacrifice for us, for your sons and daughters. We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who are true men of God and the women who love their true men of God said … AMEN.
I am not going to beat up on guys, the world does that way too much today. Seems like the one person in this day and age that is fair game is the Christian adult man. I will say much of that comes from the church too. We expect guys to be kind of donkeys, doing the work, but otherwise, shut up, sit down and the church or someone who is not a man will tell us the way it really is. Believe me I know, especially as a man who is a Christian minister, I have more than enough people telling me “the way it really is”. Usually it is total self-serving nonsense and they usually realize it after a few sentences, but won’t even have the common decency to admit it. As a layman, I got that treatment in the United Methodist Church on a regular basis.
We have the world’s idea of a “man”, we have God’s idea of a man. The world seems to have convinced everyone that like Jesus a Christian man is supposed to be kind of a cream puff, a push over. The reality in the Bible is quite the opposite. That Jesus was kind of a milk-toast, too heavenly bound to be any earthly good and so any Christian man is going to be that way. There is the world’s idea of a man, the world says that a man should be: aggressive, should be kind of a lout, I want what I want and I want it now. He doesn’t take his issues to God, he doesn’t sacrifice for his family, he isn’t a servant, it’s all about him and his little world. Instead of going to God, he is cool and what does the cool man do? He pours a six-pack down his face. People in law-enforcement have a phrase “beer muscles”, you can always tell when a guy has had too much to drink, he decides he wants to take on the world, all of a sudden he’s Popeye. We were out on a patrol one night, nice weather, then one of the guys says he sees the silhouette of a boat, boats are supposed to have lights on when they’re in the water. Not only that but he was sitting right in the middle of a very busy channel into Boston. This is a channel that oil tankers use. An oil tanker coming down the channel would have never seen that boat and even if it had would have chopped it to splinters before it could stop. We go over, circle the boat to try to figure out what their issue is and all of a sudden the lights pop on and these two guys start telling us what we can do and where we can go, blah, blah, blah. I went on their boat with another guy who is bigger and had pretty much no sense of humor. Here we are two big, ugly guys, the other guy was uglier than me. We tell them what to do, move them where we want them, show them we have weapons and are ready to use them and instantly, as usually happens, they turn into instant cupcakes. These guys didn’t have a few beers on their boat, they had 4 cases, for four people. That’s the world’s answer to things, deal with everything with booze, drugs or sex and then they wonder why they can’t function after awhile. Needless to say they both received a matching set of stainless steel bracelets, courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard and not so deluxe accommodations at the Hull town Police Dept. I ask you, is this the type of behavior that you expect from a couple of guys who claim to be Christians?
Now I want you to be completely honest, ladies, of any age, do you want a dad, husband, brother, that is a Christian man? Seems that women today resent a Christian man. A Christian man is called to be the leader of his family. Seems that it’s ok to let the guy take the hits as the leader, do the heavy lifting, but well he’s just not smart enough to do the real work of the family. I don’t believe that. Have you ever really made the home a place where he can do what he’s supposed to? Seems to me everyone in the world today demands respect, but when dad demands it, he’s being unreasonable. There’s respect to a man who is trying to be godly and righteous, and there’s the guys who don’t do anything, struts around the house, “gimmee respect, you gotta respect me”. When I say that the husband should be leading, that doesn’t mean he’s not accountable. You’ve probably heard how God created husband and wife, He took the rib out of Adam’s side, so that he would know that his wife should always be at his side, not his feet, not his head but a partner, supporting, respecting, building up, challenging and also letting him make his mistakes. Most guys I know try their hardest to serve their family in many ways, it’s not always the best way, but when our wife gives us a hug and a little noogie, telling us, “I know you’re trying and I respect that, I respect and love you, but can we talk about…?” What guy in the world wouldn’t pull up a chair for his wife and then him and then say “go ahead, please tell me what’s bothering you.” Right?
The world often thinks that respect, upright behavior, treating people honorably and usually gently is weakness. Men in the world demand what they want and someone better hand it over, and fast. The world generally believes a man should be a lout and they are usually not disappointed. That is not a Christian man. He understands and lives by Jesus’ word, that He came not to be served but to serve and so it is with us. He takes the tough stands in his family and for his family. He stands up to the world when the world tries to force on us the things of the world. He stands up as a man of Christ when the world tries to push on us the corrupt and weak things. In Proverbs 1:7 Solomon is teaching his son: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The world resists that and tries to tell us we should fear man and resist being taught, being wise in the world. We know better. The world tries to tell us that to be Christian is to be weak. What is strength to the world? The guy who takes and covets, who is unfaithful to his wife and children, that the cure for what bothers you is alcohol, drugs, unfaithfulness, lust. Don’t turn to God for strength and guidance, turn to a bottle. That’s being strong? Sorry, but that’s weak and pathetic. There is no one stronger than a man who has the courage and conviction of Christ. He is strong and faithful, standing for what is good and right in Jesus. Those aren’t easy stands to take in the world, only a man of Christian courage and conviction will do that. The world will never take a stand by themselves, they will be big and tough when their buddies around, get them alone and they turn into whimps. In fairness a Christian man is never alone. Why? He always has the Holy Spirit and we know He will hold us accountable, the fear of the Lord will guide us to know how we should act in Jesus who is our Lord. Always be that man of strength and conviction and wives love, support and respect him so that he can continue to be strong in Him who was and is strong for us. He has a tough life and he needs a strong Christian woman to support him, respect him and strengthen him.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Shalom and Amin.