Today’s topic is long overdue off the production line. Question: What’s happened to the men in our society? What’s changed them? Where are they?  Are they not conspicuous by their absence? Marriages, families, the work place, and governments are in tatters and it’s time for all men to man-up!

The world that God created was beautiful to the eyes, harmonious and conducive to all forms of life. Adam and Eve’s relationship with God and each other was blissful. However, it wasn’t long before this picture-perfect was marred. How? Adam failed to man-up when Satan poked his uninvited nose into God’s paradise and facilitated its corruption through his temptation of Eve. (Adam was there, but he buckled at the knees and followed Eve.) As God’s instruction and warning had been entrusted with Adam, it was Adam’s responsibility to protect Eve by deflecting Satan’s temptation that resulted in the severance of their holy and harmonious relationship with God.

Friends, men have been/are created by God to function in particular ways that facilitate peace, order, and harmony in all aspects of life on earth. They are to be Christ-like figures in marriage, parenting, the work place, and society in general. Adam is the person credited by God for initiating a domino effect that has kept men side-lined for thousands of years from playing their parts as they should in life. Most men today are positioned in the ‘back seat’ of responsibility in their families, abandoning their leadership to their mothers or wives.

In the absence of men ‘being men’, women have been forced to step-up to cover the vacant men-bases as best as possible, and bravo to them! On the whole they’ve done a cracker job. However, their courageous best efforts are not adequate enough and sustainable to replace men. Women were not/are not created by God to function as both woman and man.

Husbands are failing dismally in their primary responsibility to be godly providers and protectors of their wives. The Apostle Peter urges… “…you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together” (1 Pet. 3:7). And Paul says, “… husbands… love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up His life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word” (Eph. 5:25,26). Christ-like husbands are godly men who are glad to be selfless and sacrificial… giving themselves fully to the care, protection and well-being of their wives!

Fathers are also failing dismally in a secondary responsibility… to instruct, teach, train and discipline their children to observe God’s standard of morality and lawfulness. From the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses says to fathers, “So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up” (11:18,19). Instead of being exemplary model-teachers to their children, fathers have long ago passed-on the responsibility to teach their children about God and the core-essentials of righteous living to Sunday School teachers!

I’m a husband, father and grandfather. If it wasn’t for the Holy Spirit’s intervention in my life many years ago, I would have failed dismally in my marriage, in my parenting, and in my grandparenting. All glory to God for enabling me to understand and apply myself to my God designed and designated role as a man in my family, and in society.

The time for me to man-up came in 1976. It was my decision at that time that saved my marriage from divorce and continues to help me to know how to be an upright and responsible man in God’s image. For me, every minute of every day is when I need to man-up… and stay-up. What about you? Do you need to man-up in any way? Right now, is the best time!

Best wishes
Bill