Man Up!

I recently read a CNN article that gave statistics about how men are disconnected from their families and our culture is prolonging adolescence. It gave a stunning statistic that 18-34 year old men spend more time playing video games than 12-17 year old boys. Wow! It said that women are taking the place of men in many areas. At the end of the article it challenged men to "Man-Up."

Seriously...CNN just told us to man up!? It is time that we, as the church, begin to take the lead in this area. The media is constantly bombarding young men with a skewed view of what a man looks and acts like. Shows like Modern Family, According to Jim, and even back to Married with Children portray men as fumbling idiots with zero leadership, lack of intelligence and a total disconnect from their family.

In Acts 2, it talks about how the local church "did life" together. They ate together, worked together, and fellowshipped together. Men, it is time to Man-Up and begin to live according to the example set by the early church. It is time for us to push back against this sad stereotype being broadcast by the current pop culture. We are able to lead. We CAN meet the emotional needs of our families and be fully engaged in those relationships. We have what it takes!! We are not perfect, we may struggle, but we never give up. We are fearless and tireless. We are able because of Him who strengthens us!!!

There are 3 things I think we can do right away to begin taking back some ground.

1.Find a Timothy - Just like Paul, we need to find someone that we can mentor - speaking encouragement into their life. This may be one of your kids, a young person in your family, church, or neighborhood, or just someone that seems like they need some help. We all have a story - areas of struggle, victory and strength that can be used to lift up someone else.

2. Find a Paul - We all need someone in our life to mentor us - helping, encouraging, and lifting us up. We all have areas in our lives that could use some outside wisdom and revelation. Stop worrying about what people think and go find someone that can help you. Don't let your marriage fall apart, don't continue to stumble through the snare of pornography, don't drown under the pressures of work. We are ALL men. We ALL struggle with the same issues. It is only pride that keeps us from sharing them openly with another. Pride keeps us from "confessing our sins to one another, so that we may be healed." (James 5:16) Let's kick pride in the butt and get on with it....

3. Be real - As men, we usually don't like to talk about deep things. We want to talk about the weather, sports, and "man stuff." Talk about our marriage? Kids? Finances? Addictions? No way!! We feel like a failure if we couldn't "handle it" or "fix it" on our own. C'mon....let's say it together....PRIDE! No one can handle it all and fix it all on their own. Some of you are drowning out there but refuse to GET REAL because of pride. Let's get over it and get real. Then we'll see real victory over Satan, our enemy, in this fight for our families, our faith, and our lives.

We are warriors. If a warrior was wounded, but didn't tell anyone and tried to just patch it on their own, that wound would begin to get infected. Eventually it would ooze and puss and stink. Such a wound would quickly end up killing him because he chose to avoid proper treatment. So, be a great and mighty warrior, but get some treatment for your wounds. Remember the Word in James 5:16 says if we confess one to another we are HEALED.

Find a Timothy, find a Paul, get Real, get HEALED and MAN UP!