Can the Real Men of God Please Stand Up
06 July, 2015
I target this blog toward women. I don't know if that's obvious with the hearts and pink stripes. It's kind of got a cutesy bakery look to it... very girly and I adore it. Anywho, I have a tracker called "Google Analytics," and it basically tells me details about the blog readers. It tells me how many people are currently browsing the site, how many visitors I get per day, how long they're staying, where they're linking from (Facebook, Google, direct), which country they live in, and if they're a boy or a girl. To my surprise, 63% of site visitors are, believe it or not, male.
Which is why tonight's blog is targeted specifically for the majority: boys.
I love boys. I have a 20-year-old brother named James and he's my very best friend in the whole world. Living with him all my life has given me a front-row seat to the lovely land of boyhood, complete with burps and dirty underwear and liters upon liters of chocolate milk. (love ya James)
Witnessing my brothers life has given me an inside scoop on how boys work, think, and play. I've learned the NBA is actually quite entertaining if you legitimately sit down and watch. I've learned (20 year old) boys really can eat everything in the entire kitchen and still have room for a #5 Vito from Jimmy Johns. And I've learned boys don't have things as easy as us girls seem to think they do.
I may be biased, but my brother is one of the most handsome boys I know. He's 6'3'' with blonde hair and a swimmers body (he is a college swimmer, after all), and he's got a lot going for him. He's got a great coaching job, he has a family that adores him, and friends he see's every day. Yet, even James struggles with the occassional ping of insecurity and self-doubt.
James is no different than ANY other man in the entire universe. All men (and women, too) suffer, at some point in their lives, with their worth, talents, life plans, body image, and reputation. Not one of us is perfect, not a single one, and we know that first hand. We live in our bodies, so we see every single mistake we make, from sleeping past our alarm to cussing under our breath to BAD breath to well, you get the picture.
The Bible gives a clear vision for Godly women. Women are to be gentle-hearted, servant-like, helpful, encouraging, and loving. But what about the men? The Bible is filled with male characters who serve God with courage (David), with submission (Job), with stubborness (Jonah), with faith (Noah), with vigor (Paul), with peace (Jesus)... It's almost overwhelming how many men the Bible contain, and they all seem to have different attributes. Some are total opposites of each other!
Having read through the majority of the Bible and witnessed my brother growing up, I've compiled a list of three things for men to pray to God for. Of course, all men are created differently with the gifts and personalities God knit together for them, but men are still men. Our leaders. Our warriors. Our princes.
1. Every guy I've talked to in the last year seems to have seen the movie "American Sniper." I refuse because I'm just too sensitive with war movies. Anything too intense or scary is not for me. If there's a scary scene while I'm at the theater, I usually conveniently need to fill up my popcorn in the lobby. :) Anyways, from what I've heard, one of the scenes from the movie involves the main character as a little boy listening to his fathers advice.
"There's three types of people in this world: sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. Become a sheepdog, son."
Basically, his father was explaining the importance of leading the innocent and helpless to safety, away from the wolves. I believe the Bible expects all men of God to be sheepdogs. The world is filled with so many lies, meaning sheepdogs are more than necessary. While the "wolves" of this world try to explain how men should use women as objects and live promiscuous lives and watch porn and cheat on their significant other, true men of God (serving as sheepdogs) have a RIGHT and DUTY to steer the sheep (aka younger men) AWAY from the lies of the "wolves" and into safety. A true man of God knows how precious and chain-less a life free of the worlds lies can be. It's up to them to teach other men how to themselves become sheepdogs, not wolves.
2. Lots of boys struggle with their appearance. I so often think of how tough the world is for girls, with magazines of photoshopped celebrities in bikinis and skeletons walking down the runways of Milan. But the struggle is just as real - if not MORE real - for men. Men are told from a young age they must be big and strong, just like their Superman action figures. Every guy I've dated has asked me if he was big enough or needed to lose fat and gain muscle or workout more or get on steroids or take more preworkout. They were all consumed with it, just like us girls. So, I challenge all men of God (and women, too) to pray for confidence in their appearance. It's impossible to look perfect, there's always a pound of fat to lose or muscle to gain. God created all men to serve Him and love Him, yet we get so easily caught up in our own appearance and forget our one true purpose on this Earth. There's nothing we can do to make God love us more than He does. Ignore the fitness mags and friends taking supplements and know your true worth is in Jesus Christ, friend.
3. Lastly, men of God should pray to be... men of God. As a woman, I know exactly what I need in a man. He doesn't need a 6 pack or a 6-figure job. He doesn't need a Cadillac or a benchpress over 300 lbs. He does, however, need to love God with all His heart. Recently, I went out with an old fling and felt sooo insecure and weird the whole time. When I got home, I just felt sick about the whole night and didn't know why. Then it hit me: I knew for a fact he wasn't strong in his faith, leading to me finding myself insecure about who I am.
The last three years, I've tried my best to love Jesus with all my heart. If I can't find a man with similar convictions, I'd rather just not ever get married. Women who love Jesus are looking for men who love Jesus and can strengthen their faith. Men set the spiritual thermostat of a family; if the man doesn't pray before dinner time, why would he expect his wife and kids to follow God? Men were born to be leaders. Godly men should strive to set the thermostat through the roof. Think about it, boys, would you rather have your future daughter making her life's decision based on 50 Shades of Grey or the Bible?
And with that, I pray over all 63% of you male readers. Become the men we so desperately need in this world. Trust God to lead you, and remember: you are WORTHY.
^ A MUST WATCH for men. Starts out a bit cheese-bally, but by the end - you'll be FIRED up. Please don't punch a wall.
