Day 8 - Act Like Men

Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. - 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NASB)

What great instructions for how we are to live our lives. If you want to advance in your faith, in your marriage, in your family, in your work, or wherever, here Paul gives the best advice. Be alert - look at what’s around you, pay attention to your surroundings.  Observe your wife and your kids, do they show any signs they may need a little extra attention? Let it be done in love. Stand firm in the faith - have you been spending time in God’s word, spending more time in prayer than you spend grumbling about your problems, sharing your faith even though it isn’t always convenient? Let it be done in love. Act like a man - do resist the urge to whine when things don’t go your way, do you cover your responsibilities in the home, provide for your family (not just financially), step up and take responsibility for your mistakes? Let it be done in love. Be strong - do you resist peer pressure, resist sin, do you make your physical health a priority? Let that be done in love, too! Paul wrote, Let “ALL” that you do be done in love. Don’t hold back here, be honest with yourself. When you compliment your wife’s cooking, is it because you love her, or is it because you selfishly want her to make that dish again?  When you show your kids how to do the dishes, or mow the yard, is it because you’re training them to replace you in your chore list, or is it because you want them to know these things for their own benefit?

Action Point: Challenge yourself to take inventory of what is going on in your life. Be on the alert, not just concerning those around you, but even in your own mind - what could be something that’s holding you back, keeping you from advancing in the faith? Ask the Holy Spirit to expose it, repent, and run from it.

Prayer Suggestion: Lord, help me to “act like a man.” Not a man, as defined by my own desires or goals, or what society tells me that looks like, but what you’d have me be. Help my actions take root in my love for you, for the family you’ve blessed me with, and in all you’ve given me. Amen.

- Jeff Williams, ND Men Team