The Biblical True Man

When David was close to death, he told Solomon his son: 2:2, “I am about to die. Be strong and become a man! 2:3 Do the job the Lord your God has assigned you by following his instructions and obeying his rules, commandments, regulations, and laws as written in the law of Moses. Then you will succeed in all you do and seek to accomplish, – 1 Kings 2:1-3  

Man, I love that challenge! David says to Solomon, “Son, BE A MAN!” The Hebrew meaning of that passage suggests being a “servant,” “champion,” and “great man.” What guy doesn’t want to be a champion and a great man? And notice what David shares after his challenge to his son? He lays out the foundation for biblical manhood as obedience to God, not things of the world.

If you desire to be a true man (how God intended), then there will be some areas in your life that you will have to “Man Up” in. As a man, I’m preaching to myself, and I want to challenge you with areas that we all need to man up in:

Spiritual Consistency

We have all seen way more than our fair share of lukewarm, checked-out, or absent men in church. Well, guys, that has got to stop, and it starts with us owning our own faith. To be a man of God, you must spend time with God. Only going to church when it’s Easter and Christmas or when your girlfriend/fiancé/wife drags you is not going to cut it. You want to know the truth: real men love Jesus! We must make it a priority to crack open our Bibles, pray and worship more, get to church every weekend, and become the spiritual leaders we are called to be.

Integrity

I have always been taught that integrity means honesty. It means doing the right thing, even when it’s hard. Integrity is being the same person behind closed doors when no one is looking as you are in public. Proverbs says that the integrity of the upright will guide them (Prov. 11:3). Good character and integrity are always found leading the way in the life of a man of God. So what does this mean for us? Tell the truth and the whole truth. Do the right thing at work, even if it takes longer or makes you look bad. Don’t let certain behaviors remain in the dark while you play it off like everything is cool. Man up and walk with integrity!

Commitment

There used to be a time when being a man of your word was honorable. When your word was your bond, a shake of the hand and a look in the eye meant you would follow through. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case anymore in our culture. However, that doesn’t mean we have to go with the flow. It’s time we rise up and be men of commitment. The Bible says let your yes be yes and your no be no (Matt. 5:37, James 5:12). If you committed to do something, you do it, even if it’s not popular or something better came up that you would rather do. God is a man of His Word; we should follow His lead.

Relationships

As men, we can do a better job at how we approach relationships with the opposite sex.  It’s time we man up in how we communicate with and treat women, too.  Man up and serve your girlfriend/fiancé/wife and get the revelation that the world doesn’t revolve around you and just getting your needs met. God calls us to be initiators in relationships, so we need to man up and play the part well.

Purity

In our sex-saturated, promiscuous, show-it-all, and do whatever feels good in society, it can be hard to stay pure in thought and action. But just because things are crazy around us doesn’t mean we can slack on true manhood. A real man makes a covenant with his eyes to not look lustfully at another women, whether in person or on a computer or smartphone (Job 31:1). That means we need to look the other way at the gym or the beach, to not look back at the jogger, and to be careful where we click on social media and the internet. We must set physical boundaries in our relationships according to God’s standards. And manning up in this area means that we need to practice self-control with ourselves when we are all alone in our room with no one home.

Finances

The Bible challenges us to be good stewards of the resources that God gives us…this includes our money. Real men have a plan for how they spend their money. Not knowing how much money you have in your account or how you are going to spend it is lazy and unacceptable. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Buying something just because you want it, even though you don’t have the money, is immature and irresponsible. Debt isn’t sexy; financial freedom is. And for the record, real men give, and help the poor. Money should flow through our hands, not get stuck in our fists. If you are struggling with this, It’s time to man up and regain control in the financial arena.

Accountability

To be the man God calls you to be, you need other men in your life to help challenge and push you forward. God never intended for us to do life alone, and we are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with. One way to man up is to find some “brothers” to be honest and transparent with. In my own experience, getting together with the guys to eat and watch the game is fun, but it usually never takes me further spiritually. But when you can be honest with other men, confess secrets and sin, get advice, pray with and challenge each other, that is a total power play in your life.

Some of these may be hard to swallow, but I believe it’s time for the next generation of men to grow up, rise, and take a stand for biblical manhood. From one brother to another, I challenge you to   BE A MAN! A TRUE MAN!

Be strong and become a man!

“…be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.”

1 Kings 2:2