Men are selfish!
All women are applauding in agreement. All men are appalled at the accusation. Sorry guys, sometimes the truth hurts.
Now in all actuality, as a human race we’re instinctively selfish. (That includes you ladies. So sorry, don’t hate me). But hey no worries, in honor of Baptist Men’s Day, the men will be the one’s standing squarely in the crosshairs.
We as human beings have a huge problem with selfishness. Especially us men. We carry a “me” first mentality and wear it like our favorite broken in, sweat stained ball cap.
It fits us well. A little too well.
So how do we combat this problem of selfishness that so plagues the male population? Even though we often don’t turn to it, most every one of us are in possession of the answer and it’s just sitting on the nightstand or tucked underneath a pile of clothes somewhere in our bedroom. In a man’s simple and practical way of thinking, I’m sure we’d all agree that an object sitting dormant, just occupying space, isn’t doing anyone any good.
So why do we leave our Bible just sitting there? Selfishness, maybe?
Now if selfishness is where you like to make your bed and you’re comfy there, then these words probably won’t carry much weight. But if you want to be a better husband, father, son, human being, and oh yeah this thing called a “Christian,” then you better pay attention. The choice is ours. While I may not specifically have a multitude of answers on how to be better at each of these things, I have one answer that acts as a blanket for all of them.
Serve!
God calls us to think of others before ourselves. To put others first. To serve their needs before our own. God simply calls us to serve.
And it’s right there in His word.
“Do not be concerned only about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others. Have the same attitude Christ Jesus had.” - Philippians 2:4-5.
The answer to how we become better at all these things.
Serve!
Physical fitness is an important aspect of this life we live - albeit I’m sorely struggling in that area myself - but our physical health is important nonetheless and should be taken seriously. Most of us however fall short in that category 🙋🏻♂️.
However, a true man isn’t measured by how much weight he lifts, but by how much he lifts others up.
“As water reflects the face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.” - Proverbs 27:19
Jesus was the greatest man that ever walked the earth, yet His max bench press or physical physique are never mentioned anywhere throughout scripture. His grace and love however, flood the pages of the Bible and are His reason for coming down to us.
Jesus was a servant. The greatest servant imaginable.
He’s calling us to be servants as well, but oftentimes we let our pride and self-centeredness become an immovable force that we strategically place right in the path of our purpose. Being the head of the household doesn’t come with a free pass to have everyone else shoulder all the weight. We’re to serve our spouses, our children, our enemies, friends, neighbors, strangers. You name them, we’re to serve them. So many of us men miss the joy that serving others brings because we’re too worried about doing things to try and please ourselves.
Being a man requires being responsible.
We’re responsible for all those under our care, but our responsibility stretches far beyond helping to provide the basic, everyday necessities for our families. As followers of Jesus, we have to own the responsibility of leading and guiding them to Jesus. Ultimately, your child's walk with Jesus will be made by their own determination, but wouldn’t you want to pour Jesus into them every opportunity you could?
Maybe you don’t. Maybe it just doesn’t mean that much to you, because there’s too much effort involved, too hard to fit into your schedule, too much time spent away from the things you want to do. Let me just be the first to say how absurdly silly that is, and a burden that you will have to bear. We often let our selfishness outweigh studying the Bible to grow in our faith, reading scripture to our kids, praying with or even over our spouse and children. That extends to not bringing our family to worship on a consistent basis and even simply trying to walk with Jesus to be an example for not only our families but others as well.
Maybe it’s as simple as you not walking the grocery kart back to the rack at Kroger. That’s just down right pure selfishness and laziness, and if that’s you, shame on you. Do better!! Be better!! Sorry - went off on a little tangent there.
We’re not always going to get it right, if we ever do. None of us are, but how dare we sit and complain during difficult times when we’ve made no effort to draw near to Jesus and seek His guidance to help us through those times.
Society sorely underestimates the importance and necessity of a strong male presence. You can physically be present, without actually being present. Just a body taking up space in an otherwise empty house. Even at that, many are not even physically present.
There’s nothing in the world more manly than a man walking in step with Jesus, leading and serving his family and others.
“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” - Joshua 24:15
Maybe you’ve missed out on witnessing what being a man truly looks like and don’t know where to begin. You can start right where you are. Jesus is there, waiting to accept your surrender and submission and to be the guiding force for you to be the man you're called to be.
Men, are we living for ourselves or for Jesus? If Jesus is our answer, then so are others.
I hope this doesn’t ruffle too many feathers.
Then again, I hope it does!
Be a man!
By: Zach Shaw