When I was a child, I talked like a child,
I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
~ 1 Corinthians 13:11
My crossing into manhood occurred at a Los Angeles, California Promise Keepers event in 1995. My marriage was struggling, largely due to my immaturity. After the hundredth time hearing a priestly-robed, black preacher scream, “You’ve got to out-love and out-serve your wife!”, it finally hit home.
Alone in the Los Angeles Coliseum God spoke to me. That’s right. I heard the voice of God amidst 70,000 other voices. I became a man that day. It changed the course of my life, marriage and of those who love me; because, when a man gets it—everyone wins! I decided to out-love and out-serve Shanna for the rest of our lives. I was a thirty-year-old father, football coach, husband, and pastor the day I became a man. It was the day I realized one thing—a man is as a man does.
Manhood isn’t chronological. It’s deeper than a timeline, facial hair, or the ability to fight for one’s country. It’s about talking, thinking, and living like a man. It took three decades for me to cross over from boy to man.
Paul ends the Love Chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, with verse 11, words every man should read. First, a man talks like a man. He listens, avoids gossip, slander, and maliciousness. He’s accountable for his words (Matthew 12:34-36), and chooses them wisely.
Second, he thinks like a man. He guards his mind (Philippians 4:6-8) and tests everything he watches, listens to, or reads. He knows that he’s only as strong as his mind—guarding it diligently.
Third, he reasons like a man. A male measures life by “my” for “my” and an eye for an eye. A male lives in the here and now unable to process the big picture. To reason like a man is to consider intentionally and act accordingly to take action towards a right conclusion.
When a man talks, thinks, and reasons like a man, he has crossed over from boyhood to manhood—from male to man.
Are you a male? Or, are you respected because of the way your life represents your manliness?
Alone in the Los Angeles Coliseum God spoke to me. That’s right. I heard the voice of God amidst 70,000 other voices. I became a man that day. It changed the course of my life, marriage and of those who love me; because, when a man gets it—everyone wins! I decided to out-love and out-serve Shanna for the rest of our lives. I was a thirty-year-old father, football coach, husband, and pastor the day I became a man. It was the day I realized one thing—a man is as a man does.
Manhood isn’t chronological. It’s deeper than a timeline, facial hair, or the ability to fight for one’s country. It’s about talking, thinking, and living like a man. It took three decades for me to cross over from boy to man.
Paul ends the Love Chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, with verse 11, words every man should read. First, a man talks like a man. He listens, avoids gossip, slander, and maliciousness. He’s accountable for his words (Matthew 12:34-36), and chooses them wisely.
Second, he thinks like a man. He guards his mind (Philippians 4:6-8) and tests everything he watches, listens to, or reads. He knows that he’s only as strong as his mind—guarding it diligently.
Third, he reasons like a man. A male measures life by “my” for “my” and an eye for an eye. A male lives in the here and now unable to process the big picture. To reason like a man is to consider intentionally and act accordingly to take action towards a right conclusion.
When a man talks, thinks, and reasons like a man, he has crossed over from boyhood to manhood—from male to man.
Are you a male? Or, are you respected because of the way your life represents your manliness?
