Aaron Proffitt

This past Sunday, since it was Father’s Day, I taught on Real ManHood. It was actually pretty enjoyable because there is nothing more fun for me than to poke fun at the male population (which definitely includes myself). I think our people enjoyed it and what was so great about it all was that I was able to really elevate women in the process. I taught on Luke 13:10-17, where Christ healed the crippled, demon-oppressed woman. The way that we see Christ esteem and value that poor struggling, outcast woman, gives us as men the best example for how to treat women.

Teaching this passage made me really think about what a man’s purpose should be. I think that many men (even those who are a little older) are still trying to figure out what their identity is. The more I thought about it as I was preparing to teach on Biblical man hood on Father’s Day (which by the way, you can listen to the entire sermon by clicking here), the more that God just kept putting a few simple practical things in my head. As a result, five nuggets were brought to my attention in regards to a man’s purpose:

1. Grow up. This involves getting out of mom’s care, finishing school, getting a job, and paying your own bills.

2. Get Married. This involves actively pursuing a godly woman, courting her, and stepping up to meet her at the marriage alter. This doesn’t involve finding someone who will take the place of mom so don’t get any ideas men.

3. Make babies. When you get married, have kids. It’s the logical and natural progression in life. Men who don’t want kids are selfish and are not obeying God’s command to be fruitful and multiply the earth. Now how much fruit you want to make and how much you want to really multiply is a mutual decision that both the husband and wife should make together

4. Provide for the family. If you think you are a real man by getting married, and then sending your wife off to work to bring home the bacon, when you are more than capable to do so yourself, you are not doing the right thing. I know of men who have gone an entire decade without a job, while their wives have provided the entire time. Now that’s embarrassing.

5. Elevate God. I place this last not because of it’s lack of importance, but because of it’s superiority of importance. A real man will elevate God, and as a result, all of the other areas will be more healthy. Cultivating the spiritual element is the most vital element in a real man’s life. The man who avoids church on Sundays, who doesn’t pray with his wife, who doesn’t read the Bible to his kids, and who doesn’t take time personally to develop a more intense relationship with God is a complete failure in my book. And really, this man will have glaring holes in all of those other areas that were spoken of above.

So that’s it. Sometimes we need to keep it simple. We as men over-complicate things often. We tend to major on the minors. We’re more concerned about the next great video game, movie, or sporting event, than we are about cultivating the spiritual element of our lives. Let’s get on it men. Let’s get better. Let’s start growing.