Masculinity - Strength

 

^"38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’^[a] 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well." Matthew 5:38 - 40

Okay, so when, exactly, is it manly to fight? When I was a kid, I was on the receiving end and I was on the giving end. My neighbor, a professional boxer, once heard I backed down from a fight and said, "You need to come fight at my gym." So for about a year, I went to workout at the local boxing gym where he and others trained.

It didn't change my perspective on who I was, or what my capabilities were when it came to "street fighting," but rumors persisted at school that now that I boxed, I thought I was a tough kid, so they said. So it did increase my opportunities to fight. To that end, I guess it worked, giving me opportunities to use the skills I learned to fight more, or to learn to back down from a fight in a more dignified way so the boxer wouldn't hear I "chickened out."

As we look at masculinity, strength and toughness come to mind, and in our culture, which ultimately defines masculinity, we gauge the strength of an individual in many ways - mostly by feats of strength or exhibition of toughness. Christ, however, has a final word on it as delivered in the "Sermon on the Mount."

Turn the other cheek is almost as foreign to our concept of being a man now as it was then, in spite of much of what you may read or hear. I'm almost certain King David, our warrior king who faced Goliath, may have turned to Christ and said, "Are you kidding me?" in the same way a West Texan teaching his boy the ways of manhood might. If I  turn the other cheek, my enemy (or enemies) will smell weakness and that is all they need to come after me and take me down.

I have to admit that as a principal at a school, there were times after a boy got in a fight that my impulse thought was, "If you keep acting like this, every boy in school will be in line waiting to beat your tail after school." I might have even uttered that a time or two. I know for a fact that after a school failed to intervene in a boy's continued bullying, I told the dad that sometimes suspension is worth it as long as he gets the first punch in (and make sure you land it firmly), but don't go starting a fight just to get the opportunity. His son did and the bullying ended. That's another devotion or series of devotions entirely though.

So where does Christ draw the line? The footnotes draw upon the Old Testament language and explanation that said that God intended on preventing evil from among His people. That authorities were the arbiter and dispenser of punishment (government, soldiers, etc). It notes that individuals should resist taking on punishment themselves as they see fit.

That makes sense because. our sin-filled eyes have such poor eyesight when it comes to God's righteousness that we confuse what is evil and worth righteous judgement with our own. So, Christ is telling us not to return evil with evil (an unjust act with unjust anger). Christ is telling us to strive to take the high road, and we know that our own actions, even if we believe we are righteous in our response, will face judgement. But God, who is faithful and just, forgives our sins as we confess from 1 John 1 because His Son suffered and died for our lack of ability to see the world in any way other than through the lens of sin.

A real man doesn't have to be a fighter to be masculine, A real man doesn't have to seek ways to exhibit strength to be strong. Christ was a sheep led to slaughter on our behalf and is ultimately our strongest advocate with God for our forgiveness and redemption.

Devotion 8.7.22

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:1-3)

 

This Scripture comes after a tour de force of examples of Biblical faith in Hebrews 11. The writer has talked with some depth about Noah, Abraham, Joseph, and Moses.  He realizes he’s going to go on forever so then he just piles the list up by mentioning Gideon, David, Samuel, and more.  He talks about how they’ve conquered kingdoms and endured persecution, seen miracles and endured heartbreak, but they’ve done it all through faith. 

If those kinds of examples are sitting out there, he reasons, then why can’t we too run with endurance through whatever is in front of us.  And ultimately, each of those examples points us to Jesus because it was he who strengthened them. 

 

In the five years I’ve been with Hope, I’ve been blessed by the examples of the faith I’ve seen here.  I hesitate to name names, but since this Scripture does, I think it’s only right to remember some of those that are now cheering us on from heaven.  I’ll never forget how many times I’d be teaching a Bible study and Ernie Kiesling would quietly raise his hand and ask a question that blew me away.  The product of a lifetime of following Jesus and reading his Word.  I’ll never forget my last visit with Brian Barnell when I brought him communion. He wasn’t eating anymore, but when he saw my box, he said, “there’s the food I really need.”  Yes, the examples of faith here at Hope, not just in those men, but in all of you has built me up.  The words we shared on 2^nd Saturdays.  Some overnight brisket cooks and crawfish boils.  And with so many of you, moments of conversation talking about life and how God was carrying you.

 

The hard thing is that sometimes after being built up, God calls us on to another task.  It would probably be easier to stay, but I’m seeing another leg in the race set before me.  And so we’re going to keep running and looking to Jesus for the strength to do it. I do, however, ask that you all continue to be part of my cloud of witnesses.  Pray for me and my family. Pray for our ministry. Pray that we successfully bring a little of Texas with us to Minnesota!  Know that I’m praying for you as well.  Your names are all over my prayer journal and I’ll keep those prayers coming.

 

May God bless you each as you cast aside whatever is hanging on you.  Keep running the race with Jesus!

Dan

Masculinity - Discipline/Mentorship

"'My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, not be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.' It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons." Hebrews 12:5 - 10

Discipline is most often the most misused word I know. In my personal experience as an assistant principal and principal, people equated "discipline" with "punishment," but discipline is far more than punishment. Discipline has multiple meanings, and if you look it up, you will see it can mean to teach, train, and admonish/correct a child, apprentice, friend and the like who are under your influence or control (voluntarily or involuntarily) or to learn a formal field of study (his discipline he studied in college was architecture). 

We always seem to go to the base meaning of the word, to punish, but my desire as a principal and parent was that every moment in a student's or child's day is a teachable moment which forms habits. Desirable routines and habits facilitate discipline which in turn improves the student of person in the goals he or she has set in life. Discipline is as internally driven as it is externally. In fact, we know that people are primarily driven by internal desires and drive more than external. If you've had the privilege to meet an Olympian, you've had the privilege of meeting someone who was driven by the idea of being great and a love of what they did.

As men of faith in a church setting, we are here to be a part of that body, as we confess during an infant's baptism, that will pray for, attend to and be a part of that child's faith life. We are here to instruct, teach, correct and see to it that the child learns the discipline of his or her faith. If we search scripture, fathers are mentioned more often than mothers are in terms of the development of faith, but men in general play a big role. 

Our next set of devotions on masculinity will provide helpful scripture and ideas that may motivate of help in these areas. We pray that as men of God, our example via words and actions speak to those we see and that these help grow and develop the faith of those we contact.

Masculinity - Mentorship

 "'My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, not be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.' It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons." Hebrews 12:5 - 10

Discipline is most often the most misused word I know. In my personal experience as an assistant principal and principal, people equated "discipline" with "punishment," but discipline is far more than punishment. Discipline has multiple meanings, and if you look it up, you will see it can mean to teach, train, and admonish/correct a child, apprentice, friend and the like who are under your influence or control (voluntarily or involuntarily) or to learn a formal field of study (his discipline he studied in college was architecture). 

We always seem to go to the base meaning of the word, to punish, but my desire as a principal and parent was that every moment in a student's or child's day is a teachable moment which forms habits. Desirable routines and habits facilitate discipline which in turn improves the student of person in the goals he or she has set in life. Discipline is as internally driven as it is externally. In fact, we know that people are primarily driven by internal desires and drive more than external. If you've had the privilege to meet an Olympian, you've had the privilege of meeting someone who was driven by the idea of being great and a love of what they did.

As men of faith in a church setting, we are here to be a part of that body, as we confess during an infant's baptism, that will pray for, attend to and be a part of that child's faith life. We are here to instruct, teach, correct and see to it that the child learns the discipline of his or her faith. If we search scripture, fathers are mentioned more often than mothers are in terms of the development of faith, but men in general play a big role. 

Our next set of devotions on masculinity will provide helpful scripture and ideas that may motivate of help in these areas. We pray that as men of God, our example via words and actions speak to those we see and that these help grow and develop the faith of those we contact.

Masculinity - Wisdom Pt 2

 "...we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." Colossians 1:9-10

Is wisdom one of those qualities best defined by, "I know it when I see it," or "I know it when I hear it/read it"? Dr. Michael Ziegler, speaker of the Lutheran Hour, has been focusing on the book of "Ecclesiastes" these past few weeks. "Ecclesiastes," as he noted on his broadcast on Sunday, July 10, was summarized by saying that Solomon's preaching in "Ecclesiastes" was the ultimate, "Meh." In case you don't know what "meh" means, it is the way of saying "it's okay" sarcastically, as though "okay" isn't all that great. It was "meh."

Solomon, at the end of his earthly life, seems to say life is just that, okay...maybe. Worse, it is all vanity (vapor). When speaking in chapter one of wisdom, Solomon says, "I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under they sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind." (v. 13-14) I can see a person with a smile on his face going to Solomon asking, "What is life all about?" and getting that answer as his smile falls to a flat line look.

Yet Ziegler notes at the end that while the book is a sobering reminder of what pursuing the earthly good life can ultimately be, it is also a reminder of what our mindset needs to be when approaching God daily. It reminds us of exactly what Paul is saying, that we be "filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding...." We cannot do it if our posture is anything but humility, on bent knee, asking God to grant us knowledge, understanding, and wisdom (discernment) for each day as we go about life seeking to do His will and His will alone.

So as we noted in the last devotion, we seek God's Spirit to provide us with strength and wisdom each day which come from Christ and God the Father (1 Corinthians 2). God's Spirit will search God's wisdom and give us our daily provision as we seek to truly live under the theme, "Give us this day our daily bread" and "Thy will be done."

Masculinity - Wisdom

 "Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice?... O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense. Hear for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right, for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips." Proverbs 8:1; 5&7

One of the funniest memes (pictures with a message on social media) I saw was of Dean Martin, holding a glass of his favorite drink, smiling his signature smile, while holding a cigarette with the caption, "Wisdom comes from experience. How did I gain experience? From a lack of wisdom." 

(Click here if you don't know who Dean Martin is and focus on the caption for the sake of the devotion.)

Certainly, in life on earth and with it earthly wisdom, trial and error over years should provide us with wisdom, the kind Dean was referring to earlier. You either get it over your lifetime or you don't. The same characteristics that interfere with spiritual wisdom interfere with earthly wisdom: pride and arrogance rank right up there. While age isn't a guarantee of wisdom, we do have the benefit of age to give us enough trial and error to break down that pride and arrogance.

Solomon, though, talks bluntly to the prideful and boasters in verse five when he says "simple ones" and even more bluntly "fools." He does note, however, that it can be learned because he says, "...learn prudence" and "...learn sense."

He's talking to me directly with that comment, and I am guessing to others reading this. If I'd get it through my thick skull to listen every now and then to someone who is trying to help me out, I might learn a thing or two, but no, let me do it my way. Paul talks to those of us who never learn in the New Testament as he speaks about wisdom in 1 Corinthians 1:30-31: "And because of him (God), you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"

God has a plan for the weak and prideful/arrogant sinners who cannot learn wisdom, like me. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to become wisdom for me. We receive our wisdom through the Spirit as Paul continues to write in chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians, "...these things God has revealed through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches even the depths of God... and we impart this in words no taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual." (1 Cor 2:10 and 13).

Part of our "masculinity" is wisdom, gained from no longer fighting God and His Spirit, but yielding to Him as we pray, "Thy will be done." We seek humility to gain these insights and lessons only God can reveal to us, so that we may share them with others not as wise men of God, but as servants obedient to Him, out of the same love He showed us through His mercy and grace.

Devotion July 4, 2022

Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle[c] and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” 1 Samuel 8:10-18

I don't remember the first time I read this, but I remember the impact it had on me. Israel wants a king, like other nations they've watched. Until this point, God has led them. Israel, though, wants the tangible, visible, ever-present king. In fact, after Samuel points all of this out to them (the truth), they answer, "No! But there shall be a king over us!" God tells Samuel to give them what they are asking for.

What struck me about the list of things a king will do is it read like Thomas Jefferson's list of "facts be submitted to a candid world" (Declaration of Independence). Much of what we remember in the document are the poetic words at the beginning of the document, reflective of the political thinker John Locke. Locke set out in his "Treatise of Government, Parts One and Two," to dismantle the argument that a king ruled by "divine right" and moved those rights to the people themselves as part of "natural law." We turn over rule via consent of the governed. Much of what Jefferson lists in the Declaration of Independence is what has been done without "consent of the governed," his case for separation from the crown and England.

As Pastor Eric noted last Thursday in the weekly "Table Talk," speaking on two court cases that were recently released (go to Hope Lutheran Church and School Lubbock on Facebook if you'd like to listen to the discussion), he said as Christians we live in two kingdoms (a concept started by St. Augustine's "City of God" and further developed by Luther himself). We serve God in the "Heavenly Kingdom," and we answer to and respect authority "established by God" (Paul in Romans emphasized in the Small Catechism regarding "Governing Authorities") So, we are citizens in both realms, heavenly and earthly, and as such, we declare God's grace through His gospel in both realms. Yet, we have a duty to be active as citizens in the earthly realm. 

To conclude, we are thankful for our rights spelled out in our constitution, and we are thankful that the wheels were set in motion for that eventual document on this day in 1776. We pray that we enjoy our rights as citizens in the earthly kingdom and use the gifts God has given us to share the gospel to our world. We also pray for those who live in countries that are hostile to people of faith, and we pray that their mission as citizens in the heavenly kingdom, to serve God and share His gospel message, takes root and spreads as well in spite of those hostilities. 

Have a great 4th of July with friends and loved ones.