In many, perhaps most, cases men do not realize how greatly they are needed. This world still needs kings.
Men, your wives and children, your communities and your churches need men of passionate conviction and sure-footed purpose. We need leaders who exhibit godly character and demonstrate fearless leadership. We are hungry for those who would be our guardians and moral gatekeepers.
Too often men fail to soberly recognize and embrace the weight of responsibility, opportunity and privilege that falls on them alone, the gift of genuine masculinity that has the potential to carry with it a seal, a crest, a banner of honor, a crown. This culture, this society, this dark place desperately needs men of unwavering moral conviction, men prepared to set the example of spiritual excellence, of faithfulness, of passionate truth and unbridled courage.
You have been lied to. You have been told that you don’t matter anymore. You have come to believe that your gifts and strengths are not needed. This depraved culture has lulled you into complacency.
Over time, some of you have become content to do a day’s labor and bring home a paycheck, then come home at day’s end to sink into your recliner and flip on the television. Your spiritual lives have become religious acts of lukewarm obligation, grounded in accommodation, full of empty words and cold and lifeless prayers.
And what excitement you glean might be found primarily in a movie theater, on the golf course, or in a nightclub. All the while, all around you we as a people are literally starving for a man with a godly fire in his eyes. We are deprived of virtuous leadership, of your passionate force for good. We are desperate to hear words charged with power and wisdom and unadulterated truth.
Men, your wives need to feel safe and loved and appreciated. Your women spend time tending to their skin and hair and make-up and clothes so that you might remind them that they are special; that you see who they are and what they have to offer. They long to share their dreams with you, to lie in your arms and hear your words of authentic affirmation and affection and encouragement. They want to know you understand and will strive to meet their heartfelt needs. They may enjoy having sex, but they want to be seduced, they want to be made love to.
Men, your children need a positive role model. They long for your blessing on their lives. You have the raw ability to instill in them a confidence and conviction that no one else’s influence can match. You have the power to speak life into their lives, to change the world through the legacy you have the power to birth in their waiting hearts.
Men, the world still needs kings. We need men of strong moral stature, warriors at the ready, eager and willing to sacrifice all to deter and defend any and all who would come against their kingdom. We need men who are watchful, who are aware and intent on shoring up weaknesses, men who lead by example, and bolster the confidence and sense of safety and security of all those who live within the bounds of their kingdom.
Such a man is worth following. Such a man will garner the loyalty and conviction that makes his kingdom strong and prosperous and others rightfully envious.
I am married to such a man. I married a king. And I know what that makes me.
Men: You may not be noble by birth, but you were made to live a noble life.
Be steadfast, immoveable, ever abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. I Corinthians 15:58
Cindy Burrell
Copyright 2012 @All rights reserved.
oh my goodness gracious, mark in idaho:
1. you continue to bring up the issue of abusive women, yet that has nothing to do with any of the conversations taking place on this forum. sounds like you have a chip on your shoulder. no one is disagreeing with you that women can be abusive too, but there is nothing in the article or the comments that have anything to do with this topic. still, you continue to harp on it.
2. you have a way of reply to comments without actually addressing anything the other person is saying and continue to ramble on about things that have nothing to do with the conversation. typical behavior of an abuser. just saying.
3. you seem to have a tenuous grasp on Scripture, which i have seen in several ways. a) when you kept referencing Titus 2, you were taking it completely out of context, which i addressed and you ignored. b) referencing Genesis, you said, “This is the curse as a result of her sin and her directing her husband to sin…” However, nowhere in that account does it say the women “directed” the man to eat the fruit. it says she “gave” some to him. that is putting your own twist and interpretation on what happened in the story of Genesis.
4. you keep trying to prove your point that Doug and Cindy would be “better off” if they followed YOUR direction, but your initial statement was that Cindy would NOT receive God’s blessing. you didn’t say that you suggest they come at it from a different approach or that maybe it would be helpful if they did things a different way. to paraphrase, you said, ‘this is how it should be done. Cindy will NOT receive God’s blessing.’ as if you are God. then, when i pointed out that whether or not Cindy does receive God’s blessing is none of your business, you pressed forward with a bunch of spiritual garbage that means nothing. once again, it is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS whether or not Cindy will receive God’s blessing. Cindy’s relationship with God is just that–HER relationship with God. not yours. and you certainly don’t have a say about what blessings God will reign down upon her. in addition to that, you seem to think that you know Cindy’s heart by continue to address the issue of dominant women. but, if you knew Scripture, you would know that it says that men see the outside, but God sees the heart. you only see the outside, Mark. stop trying to make yourself the judge of what’s on the inside.
5. n Titus 3, it says, “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.” that is exactly what this whole conversation is. based on the “law,” on a technicality that something true was written by a women, instead of a man.
1. I was pointing out that it is not only men who are abusers. Doug used a broad brush to say that I was likely to have been, am, or will be an abuser.
2. This WordPress forum software does not allow replies to follow the original comment. Some of my comments are to posts further up the thread. I just checked, on my Vista laptop, for some reason the reply button only is available at the bottom of the long thread. On my Win7 desktop, it shows the reply button after every post.
3. I never said Titus 2 tells women to not teach or lead men. I said “1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 14 don’t forbid women having preaching and teaching ministries, but they limit them. 1 Timothy 2 in particular forbids women from teaching or leading men. Another way to put this is to say that women are not to “shepherd” men, or be their “overseers”, as 1 Timothy 3 goes on to discuss.”
4. I did not say Doug and Cindy should follow my direction. i said they would be better off if they followed God’s Word. I did not say Cindy would not be blessed. i said that if she wanted God’s BEST blessing on her efforts, if would be better if she did not try to teach men. God can bless a heathen if he chooses. He promises that He will bless those who keep His Word.
5. Actually, I believe a man could have said it with more force. It is not what a woman wants or needs that is the issue. It is what God requires husbands to do. Cindy wrote from the perspective of women and children. They have no say in these matters. God’s direction is what is important.
You complain that I said what I think is so. I did not. i said what God’s Word says. Cindy wrote about what she thinks is so or what she thinks wives and children want. She could have written about what God ‘requires’ of husbands not what their wives ‘want.’ But, better yet, Doug could have written about what God requires of husbands.
There are lots of things wives “want” from their husbands that have no support in Scripture. A common thing wives want of their husbands is a type of spiritual walk that is similar to how women exhibit their spiritual walk. Wives often like to see their husbands have a level of sensitivity similar to theirs. God made men different. Men learn better from other men. God made it this way and He tells us to follow His instructions
The more important point here is faith. If we follow God’s Word and have faith that He will provide for us, His blessings will abound. That is His promise. When we decide to do it our way, God often lets us struggle but stays ready to catch us when we fall. I prefer to follow His Word and trust Him. In my 32 years of marriage, I have found that His way works best. If I try to do it my way, the result is not as good.
Are you saying standing up for God’s Word is a FOOLISH controversy? King James vs New American Standard is a foolish controversy.
Absolutely wonderful article to read, very well written. I want to share it with my congregation both male and female. God has really blessed you with a gift to speak powerfully with your written words. Keep speaking because we all need to hear it.
Don’t ever let the ignorance of man whether male or female try to silence you, for God has anointed you for such a time as this! And whom God has called he equips and anoints to build up the body of Christ.
Rev. Annette Berg
Thank you Annette, obviously not everyone agrees that good positive edifying text or words can come from women. Interestingly though “out of the mouths of babes” is ok……Your servant and friend Doug