Three Truths about being a great man part 2
Being a great man doesn’t just happen
Let’s all of us be honest with ourselves and with the young men we lead. We all want to be great. We all want to survey the world around us with a godly pride. Paul declared to the church at Corinth you are my testimony. There was a godly pride in what he had accomplished. He clearly gave the praise to Jesus. He told them that even his desire to work was from God. However, he recognized the work he had done. What we sometimes forget is serving God and being great is not easy. Being successful and great in the kingdom doesn’t just happen. For many of us the failures, or lack of success, comes from a lack of effort. The bible has much to say about being lazy. Pro 10:4-5 He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer [is] a wise son; He who sleeps in harvest [is] a son who causes shame. Challenge your young men and yourself. Are they poor in the things of God because they haven’t put in the work required to be rich? Have they missed the harvest of a great life because they slept through it? Pro 24:30-31, 33-34 I went by the field of the lazy [man], And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down. … A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest; So shall your poverty come [like] a prowler, And your need like an armed man. Unfortunately all too often we associate these biblical warnings with financial success. While they are certainly true in the financial realm they are just as valid in the spirit realm. Challenge those you lead to review the fields of their spiritual world. A nettle is a prickly root that’s dying. It’s something that was planted to produce fruit but, due to a lack of care, died in the ground. Are they overgrown with the thorns of laziness? I heard an old parable once about a farmer when a friend came over at harvest time. As they surveyed the hundreds of acres of growing wheat the friend remarked “God has sure blessed you hasn’t He”. The farmer said “Yes He has but you should have seen what this place looked like when I got here”. He did his part and trusted God to cause the wheat to grow. Today’s young families are filled with nettles because the men want God to do His part but they don’t want to do their part. Families today need a great man to care for them causing them to grow into what God has planned for their lives. Be careful to point out to your young men that they need to do their part not God’s part. That means being focused on the task God has given and allowing nothing to stop you. The men who took their paralyzed friend to Jesus didn’t heal him. Jesus did that. They just did their part. It was hard work born out of a great faith in Jesus.
Right Next Step
It’s been often said there are only 24 hours in a day. That’s not going to change. Being a great man and leading a great family means setting priorities. Challenge all men to count the cost of building a great family by acknowledging that some good things will have to be set aside to accomplish some great things. Let us all pray for the strength and discipline to accomplish what God has set before us.