GOD'S MODEL FOR MANHOOD
This Fathers day our team is addressing God's Model For Manhood. Using Phillipians 2:19-30 to guide us to what God told us how to model the kind of man He is looking for.
I opened the message by quoting A man by the name of Weldon Hardenbrook who wrote a book by the name of Missing From Action: The Vanishing Manhood in America.
He describes four kinds of people being promoted as men but aren’t the true masculine role. One is what he called the Macho Maniac. This is Dirty Harry, Rambo, Clint Eastwood, Diehard, Robocop 2. Deny all your feelings, ignore the law, never complain, never apologize. Just sweat and lots of it. Accomplish the impossible every eight minutes, take anything you want and bully people. The Macho Maniac model.
The 2nd kind of model he calls The Great Pretender. This is the Archie Bunker type of person who builds up his self worth by constantly belittling someone else especially his wife and his family. He rules over his family while everyone actually ridicules him behind his back. He’s frightened by the world so he keeps everyone at arm’s length by his constant caustic talk.
The 3rd model he gives is what he calls The World Class Wimp. This is the Dagwood Bumstead type of person who is so inept he’s constantly outwitted by his children, his wife and even his dog. Nobody takes him serious. He’s a bumbling idiot. His motto is “Blessed are the passive for they shall avoid conflict at all costs.” “
The 4th wrong model he presents is what he calls The Gender Blenders. This is the Michael Jacksons, the Boy George, Prince. They don’t even pretend to be masculine. Very popular today, the feminization of man There’s quite a confusion of the roles there, of identity. In People magazine there was a psychologist who asked his seven-year-old nephew whether Michael Jackson was a boy or a girl and the son said, “Both.” And we thought the gender identity was something new… I think that this book is saying that the American male is suffering from an identity crisis of epidemic proportions. Is there an alternative? Sure there is. Just look at the Bible. You find God’s model.
Brother Justin and I continued by expressing 5 things the Bible tells us about the kind of man God is looking for.
1. A man manwho understands and shows COMPASSION. Men who put people before profits
2. A man who understands CONSISTENCY, who puts character before Conformity
3. A man who understands COOPERATION by putting cooperation before competition.
4. A man who understands COMMITMENT by putting the cause of Christ before comfort.
5. A man who understands COURAGE by putting service before security.
"Only those who give away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live." Mark 8:35 (LB)
