On Lonely Men

Seven men from my church recently went to an event called The 4th Musketeer. The only way I can describe this event is to say that it was an intense hike with spiritual implications that lasted four days. Little food was eaten and little sleep was to be had based on the testimonies I heard.

The men said that the event was designed to break them down. It was designed to rid them of the pride that so often plague men. It also seemed to address another issue that men face in their lives.

Loneliness.

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Loneliness seems to be a common malady that men live with. Not many will probably talk about it or admit it. They might sing about. Waylon and Willie did back in the 1970′s when they told mammas to not let their “babies grow up to be cowboys.” Why? Because their “never at home and their always alone, even with someone they love.”

Men just seemed to be wired to be lonely. The question is why?

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I can only base my answer on my own experience. I believe it’s traced back to that first word that the I said the men from church dealt with on their adventure. It’s a word that most of us are familiar with.

Pride.

We men think we can handle things on our own. We believe that to depend on others is a sign of weakness. We don’t want to open up and share our fears, troubles and worries. Doing so would show that we aren’t real men. That we aren’t strong. That we aren’t tough.

We would rather be lonely and proud than to be free and have the weight of the world lifted.

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When we come to know Christ we become new creatures. That means we who are men are new men. Let’s actually let that become a reality in our lives. Let’s show our vulnerabilities. Our Lord did so in the garden of Gethsemane. If He can, and He is our model for life, then we should strive to live like Him and not as we have always lived.

Are you a lonely man? Do you find it difficult to lower your pride and depend on others? Are you able to be vulnerable with others?

Fight For Unity

In the 1960′s, while running for governor of California, Ronald Reagan subscribed to what became known as the 11th Commandment.  This commandment stated that “Thous shall not speak ill of any fellow Republican.”  This philosophy seemed to work out well for President Reagan.

Unfortunately, the same doesn’t seem to happen in the Church.

I don’t know about you or my fellow bloggers, but there seems to be a growing trend on Twitter  and the blogosphere.

I know this because  I’ve been guilty of this in the past.

It seems like rather than unity in the Body of Christ, there are fractures.

There is something that I would like to see more of.

I want to see a fight for unity.

Don’t get me wrong.  I know it can’t happen every single time.  I know there are some lines that have to be drawn.  We can’t always be in total unity with everyone.

The problem is that I continue to see more and more folks who want to focus on what they disagree with others about.  What I see is that some consider some things essential that aren’t truly essential in the faith.

In Ephesians 4, Paul encourages his readers to “be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  He says to do this “with humility and gentleness.”  I think we see what the problem is in this section of scripture.

I think there is a lack of humility.

I think pride is the problem.

I think we get our pride all worked up in these situations.  I think we want to get our soapbox and let some brother or sister have it.  We want to prove to them that we are right and they are wrong.

We fight with each other instead of fighting for the important things that unite us.

Let’s stop it brothers and sisters.

You disagree with someone?  Fine.  Promote what you believe.  Make a strong case for what is important to you. Convince us of what you believe.  Don’t tear down that guy or gal for what they believe.  Trust that the Lord is in control and that what He is for will win out.  I’ll respect you a lot more.

Have you noticed this trend of late?  Are you fighting for unity or just looking for a fight?

140 Words (more or less) About Pride

It’s Twitterific Thursday, where I write about a subject in 140 words more or less.

Sometimes pride comes before a great fall.  You and I  have experienced it.  Someone we know has a great amount of pride in their lives.  Maybe it’s you.  I know that I do on occasion.

Maybe, like me, you have been encouraged to take pride in yourself.  Maybe you have been encouraged to take pride in your work.  I don’t think this is something that we really have to enough pride in our lives.

I don’t think you and I are fundamentally that much different.  I have not met anyone yet who does not struggle with pride.

It’s the root of most of your sins.  It’s the root of most of your problems.  It’s the root of most of your issues.  It is the root of your personal conflicts.  It’s the root of most problems in your marriage.  I know because that’s the way it is for me.

Let’s battle the pride in our life?