Deep in their hearts, most guys want to be good men. They want to work hard and be faithful husbands and involved dads.
But a lot of guys feel like frauds. We know what to do. (At least, we think we do.) But we don’t always feel capable of doing what we know we ought to do (Romans 7:15).
Some guys feel like a fraud because … well, they are one. They’re hiding something sinful from their wives and Christian brothers, whose love and support they need most.
Other guys struggle because, as hard as they try, they feel ill-equipped to handle the responsibilities they face as husbands, fathers, friends, workers, and Christian men in a culture that desperately needs them.
In some cases, the men in their lives have failed them. That was true of each of my father figures. My dad, stepdad, and foster dad were all so lost in their own pain they abandoned me.
Whatever it is, and whatever its cause, every man has a wound he’s got to learn to overcome.
The question for each man to answer is, “What am I going to do about it?”
And that’s not a rhetorical question, by the way.
Men are either going to give in and resign themselves to whatever it is that’s holding them back from a great marriage, healthy children, and connected relationships with other men, or they are going to strive for something better in the power of Christ.
To do that, men need to come out of hiding. They’re carrying secrets, doubts, and regrets beneath the surface where no one can see them. And the enemy is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for somebody to devour (1 Peter 5:8).
He’ll convince you to hide, like our first human ancestors did in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:9-10).
He’ll whisper, “Nobody must ever know your story. What would your wife say if she found out? What would your Christian brothers do?”
It’s no accident that two of the last places men go to tell the truth is their wives and other men. Why? Because they think they’ll receive judgment and condemnation instead of hope and grace.
We need to change that. How?
Our guest on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Men: Rising Above Stereotypes,” author Craig Glass, says society needs men to “get in the way.”
What he means is that the quintessential masculine failure is passivity – remaining silent when circumstances require him to step up. Adam should have said something and done something in the Garden. Instead, he was silent and passive (Genesis 3:6).
Marriages and children are far better off when men “get in the way” – when they live as servant leaders who show their strength by “getting in the way” – of evil, of lies, of injustice.
On our program, we discussed Craig’s book Noble Journey: The Quest for a Lasting Legacy in which he says that men reflect the masculine aspects of God’s character as exhibited through Jesus Christ, who was the personification of true manhood.
Join us as Craig Glass shares how men can overcome their father wounds and embrace their identity in Christ on “Men: Rising Above Stereotypes.” Hear it on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, via Google Podcasts, or take us with you on our free phone app.
We’d like to give you a copy of Craig’s book Noble Journey: The Quest for a Lasting Legacy for a gift of any amount. For more information, visit our website. And if you can’t afford it, we’ll find a way to get it to you.
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