Lady’s Man, Man’s Man, My Own Man, or God’s Man?
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Most churches are composed of more women than men. This is due, in part, to the general tendency of women to live longer than men. But even among the younger populace of congregations, there are again usually more females than males. I’m not exactly sure why this is so, but for whatever reasons, women generally seem to be more accepting of the gospel and spiritually-minded than men. While this is certainly a commendable reflection upon the fairer sex, it surely doesn’t bode well for the male of the species! So, what can be done to improve the spiritual-mindedness of us guys? Consider three representative types of men: the Lady’s Man, the Man’s Man, and the My Own Man.
Samson surely possessed all the physical traits the ladies sought in a man. He had long flowing hair (Judges13:3-5). He had big muscles and tremendous strength (14:6; 15:14-15; 16:13); and he had unmatched athletic prowess and fighting skills (14:19; 15:4,8). Yet despite these physically attractivetraits, he also: had a horribly failed marriage (14:20–15:6); had a penchant for prostitutes (16:1-3); wound up living alone in a cave for a while (15:8); finally took his own life along with 3,000 Philistines (16:28-31). Though blessed by God with wonderful physical attributes, which apparently made him very attractive to the ladies, Samson failed to be a godly man, and he also failed to be the leader God wanted him to be. He may have been a ladies’ man, but he failed to be God’s man.
Saul had the man’s man pedigree for leadership- he was from the courageous tribe of Benjamin (Judges 20:15ff), and his father was “a mighty man of valor” (1Sam.9:1). He also was blessed with an imposing physical stature that made him look like a natural leader (9:2). And unlike Samson, Saul, at least initially, possessed great humility (9:21). He had the support of the people and the valiant men of Israel (10:23-26; 11:15). The men wanted someone else to do their fighting for them (8:20; 12:12), and Saul appeared to be just the man for the job. He was a true man’s man: tall, strong, and capable (11:5-11,15). But there was a chink in Saul’s amour. It seems that the absolute power of the monarchy corrupted him almost absolutely. He took on himself the role and responsibility of performing sacrifices (13:8-13). This was neither his place nor prerogative. He further substituted his thoughts for God’s instructions concerning the destruction of the Amalekites (15:3, 7-9). And when his failures were brought to his attention by Samuel, he denied, equivocated, and blamed the people (15:10-21). Surely this was not the conduct of a godly leader. Saul may have been a man’s man, but miserably failed to be God’s man.
Solomon was wise and wealthy enough to have it all- and that was exactly what he had-everything. “And all that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure…” (Eccl.2:10). Solomon became his own man! The details of his self-pleasing efforts are abundantly evident (vv.3-9; 1Kings 11:1-3). He thought only of himself and the pleasure he could attain. But ultimately, this pleasure-seeking desire to be “his own man” led him away from God, “For it came about when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods…Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…” (1Kings 11:4,6). Though blessed with wisdom, health, and wealth, this king of Israel was ultimately rejected as the leader of God’s people (v.11). He may have been his own man, but failed to be God’s man.
So what does it take to be God’s man? You don’t need beautiful hair, big muscles, athletic prowess, good looks, large stature, or great wisdom or wealth. You do need a godly heart (of love for Him), a godly mind (filled with knowledge of His Word), and godly determination to live for Him (rather than for women, other men, or yourself). Now, whose man do you want to be? Our families need godly husbands and fathers to lead in the home; our community needs godly citizens and businessmen to lead in it; and our churches need godly men to lead in them. Will you become a godly leader, or, are you content being led by ungodly desires of women, ungodly desires of other men, and/or your own ungodly desires?
The Southside Church of Christ (602 Henderson) will be conducting a class on Becoming Godly Men & Leaders each Thursday evening at 7:30 for the next several weeks. There is no cost or further obligation, and all males from high school age up are invited. Let’s become the men of leadership that God expects us to be: godly men!