sokin's devotional 93 - man up!
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
1 Corinthians 16:13,14
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from the ESV study bible:
Act. like. men.
Today's society can flip this to mean something chauvinistic. I think I've seen some well-meaning Christians take this to the extreme as well as if being a "man" meant that you had to be super-bold, brash, and even externally able to do "manly" things (ie: be able to fish, hunt, skin a deer, and shoot stuff).
They take the logic that "Jesus was a carpenter" or "Peter was a fisherman" to mean that we also should be able to do those things as well and anything less than that would not be looked down upon so much but rather, pitied.
Some people run with this logic and they are not really being manly - they end up just being big jerks.
I may be pushing it a little bit in my assessment perhaps, but bottom line is that when Paul says, "act like men", he isn't taking so much about external attributes or outward expressions but more about the source of where those actions are coming from.
The bible again and again tackles the issues of the hands by addressing the main issue of the heart.
It never is a behavioral change that the bible is after (rather, God is after) but it's about your heart.
"Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45)
We cannot take out external actions altogether though - Paul exhorts the church to "be watchful, and stand firm..and be strong"..all of which are actions but the main point is is that we are to be watchful, stand firm and be strong..in the faith.
Not in ourselves. Not in our "manliness". Not in our abilities but on God's abilities. As the ESV study bible suggests, to "act with courage and strength in obedience to the Lord and with confidence in His power."
And lastly, let's not forget the sentence that comes right after. "Do everything in love."
Without love, we are just clanging cymbals. A resounding gong. All noise; no function.
Lord, I be a man not by actions alone, but out of the overflow of my heart. May my trust be in You and You alone.
1 Corinthians 16:13,14
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from the ESV study bible:
Act like men (Gk. andrizomai) is a frequent command in the Septuagint and is used in contexts encouraging people (esp. soldiers) to act with courage and strength in obedience to the Lord and with confidence in his power
Act. like. men.
Today's society can flip this to mean something chauvinistic. I think I've seen some well-meaning Christians take this to the extreme as well as if being a "man" meant that you had to be super-bold, brash, and even externally able to do "manly" things (ie: be able to fish, hunt, skin a deer, and shoot stuff).
They take the logic that "Jesus was a carpenter" or "Peter was a fisherman" to mean that we also should be able to do those things as well and anything less than that would not be looked down upon so much but rather, pitied.
Some people run with this logic and they are not really being manly - they end up just being big jerks.
I may be pushing it a little bit in my assessment perhaps, but bottom line is that when Paul says, "act like men", he isn't taking so much about external attributes or outward expressions but more about the source of where those actions are coming from.
The bible again and again tackles the issues of the hands by addressing the main issue of the heart.
It never is a behavioral change that the bible is after (rather, God is after) but it's about your heart.
"Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45)
We cannot take out external actions altogether though - Paul exhorts the church to "be watchful, and stand firm..and be strong"..all of which are actions but the main point is is that we are to be watchful, stand firm and be strong..in the faith.
Not in ourselves. Not in our "manliness". Not in our abilities but on God's abilities. As the ESV study bible suggests, to "act with courage and strength in obedience to the Lord and with confidence in His power."
And lastly, let's not forget the sentence that comes right after. "Do everything in love."
Without love, we are just clanging cymbals. A resounding gong. All noise; no function.
Lord, I be a man not by actions alone, but out of the overflow of my heart. May my trust be in You and You alone.
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