We can agree that being a “Man” and being a Christian is not an easy task. “Men” will always face challenges, temptations, and changes in society. Luckily God promised that He would never give us more than we would be able to handle. The trials and tribulations will never end but being a Christian and a true “Man” will allow us to face the future with the knowledge that we will eventually overcome our problems. Remember we agreed that we have to have faith and truly believe to live a successful and happy life.
In the beginning, God gives us a great responsibly placing us in charge of virtually everything. Genesis 1:28 states, “And God blessed them. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Think about the scope of this statement. No corporate CEO has ever had such a huge responsibility, and God trusted us with this assignment. With this in mind Google defines Responsibility as “being the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone, the state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something, the opportunity or ability to act independently and make decisions without authorization, a moral obligation to behave correctly toward or in respect of, a thing that one is required to do as part of a job, role, or legal obligation.” Many people try to avoid being responsible but if we are going to live the life of a Christian and being a “Man”, we have to accept these duties and try to do our very best to do it in a Godly way. “You can scarcely pick up a paper these days without reading about someone talking about “rights.” However, the word “responsibilities” doesn’t seem to come up as often. That’s a shame because our “responsibilities” are every bit as important as our “rights.” In fact, the “responsibilities” are more important in some ways because of our nature.” (Hawkins, 2008) It is a disgrace that our society is more concerned with their “rights” than they are wanting to accept their responsibilities. Many people want the benefits but want them without effort or cost. It seems that for the last few years we have taught our children to demand instant satisfaction and that they are entitled rather than teaching them to have work ethics and be responsible for their own success. Going forward it will be difficult to convince them that they are not owed anything and for some their disappointment will be overwhelming. We are seeing this disappointment and discontent being played out with groups like “Occupy Wall Street” and “Antifa”.
In today’s culture, there seems to be fewer and fewer “Men” to take on the responsibilities necessary to maintain a strong society. We have already seen that fewer men are attending Church and that many men are practicing the religion of “Masculinity” rather than Christianity. This presents the “Christian Man” with one more challenge to overcome. We as “Men” cannot allow ourselves to become discouraged and to give up the good fight. We are directed in 1 Corinthians 16:13 to “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” The Bible is full of scripture directing men to be responsible. Natalie Salim in her article “12 Wonderful Responsibilities God Has Given to Men” (Salim, 2019) tells us that there are at least twelve responsibilities listed. These responsibilities are as follows: “To Work (Genesis 2:15), To Be Courageous (Joshua 1:9), To Be Strong (1 Corinthians 16:15), To Love (Matthews 22:37-39), To Be A Husband (Genesis 2:24), To Be Head of Family (Ephesians 5:23-24), To Serve Sacrificially (Ephesians 5:25 and John 15:13), To Be A Father (Proverbs 25:24, Ephesians 6:4, and Hebrews 12:7), To Be Compassionate (Peter 3:7 and Psalm 103:13), To Provide (1 Timothy 5:8), To Be Accountable (Proverbs 20:7 and Philippians 4:8), and To Be Honorable (Proverbs 20:7 and Philippians 4:8).” Without a doubt, if a person could live up to this list, he would be well on his way to be the Biblical Man we desire to be. It is up to each of us to accept these responsibilities and to proceed without becoming complacent.