What Makes A Man

By Ron Thomas     He has to have a directional compass not of this world. A good many people live life not knowing where they are going. They graduate school, get into the workforce and plan for retirement. When they arrive, the years slipping by much quicker than they thought, they ask “What happened!?” The Lord said to Joshua, Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore (Joshua 3:4, ASV; cf. Isa. 48:17). Without the Lord, there is no chance a man knows where he is going. Though he thinks he does, he knows nothing at all.     Moral fortitude. The word fortitude conveys the idea of strength. Without the strength of a moral character, knowing what is right and wrong is fleetingly slick. Have you ever tried to grab oil? From where does one’s moral stand come from? There are only two sources of origin: God, not-God. That is, it. If the Lord is your moral fortitude, victory is assured. If not-God is your moral fortitude, then your morality is shaped by this world’s thinking. There is no victory in that!     Courage. To have courage, one does not have to have the strength of superman, but he must have a willingness to put himself in uncomfortable situations for that which is right and for those in need of help. Sometimes this means he stands alone. To stand alone means one must have a conviction of heart that makes his standing alone on a firm foundation. The best foundation upon which any can stand is Jesus. For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11).     Leadership. In any group, one stands out as a leader. In the family, that is the man/husband/father. That is the way the Lord designed it, and if he fails in his duty to be a leader, then someone takes his place, and the Lord is displeased. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body (Eph. 5:23). If a man is not the leader in his home, there is no chance he can be a leader in the church.     Humility. Are politicians humble? It appears some are not. God’s man must be. Without humility confidence turns into arrogance. Arrogance is a useless personal quality. The reward of humility and the fear of Jehovah Is riches, and honor, and life (Prov. 22:4).     A hearing ear. There is a difference between hearing and listening. I can hear, but if I am not listening, then what you are saying goes in one ear and out the other. If that is the way a man is, avoid him; he will not listen to the Lord, much less to any other. An exhortation from the Lord is continuous, if any man hath ears to hear, let him hear (Mk. 4:23).     Words that are few. A man does not need to hear himself speak, neither does he need to impress any with the height of his wisdom. If he speaks too much, it may be that he needs to convince himself he is wiser than he actually is. Words to the point accomplish their purpose. He that spareth his words hath knowledge; And he that is of a cool spirit is a man of understanding (Prov. 17:27).     A responsible work ethic. A man is one who takes responsibility and refuses to make excuses for failure to accomplish his tasks. He is aware of the occasional occurrences outside his control, but he works in such a way to minimize outside influences that adversely affects the product. He gets us early and gets after it. Where no oxen are, the crib is clean; But much increase is by the strength of the ox (Prov. 14:4).     A willingness to trust (31:11). A man is a man who willingly puts his trust in the Lord and lives according to that trust.

- Ron Thomas preaches for the Church of Christ at Rio Grande in Bidwell, OH. He may be contacted at etsop95@gmail.com. Visit the congregation’s website at: https://www.churchofchristatriogrande.com