This Is So Necessary

Good morning Brothers,

Today I am going to leave you with the words of an author, who's book I feel every man (18 and over) should be reading. The reason I bring these words to you on this day is because there are certain actions we, men, still commit which are seriously detrimental to positioning within the minds of our women, children, community, and most of all, our Creator; God. Prayerfully, after reading this you will go and purchase the book and continue to read about how we, men, can overcome such deteriorating thoughts, speech, and actions.


To develop a clearer idea of what "released manhood" looks like, it might be helpful first to take a brief look at an *inauthentic man*, someone whose manly energy remains dormant or is expressed in corrupted form.


INAUTHENTIC MEN

If you are in relationship with an unmanly man, you likely will experience him as:
controlling (impersonally powerful)
destructive (or dangerous)
selfish (committed, above all else, to feeling a certain way about himself)

An unmanly man controls conversations; he manipulates family and friends; he arranges his life to avoid whatever he is not sure he can handle. He trusts no one, not deeply. He works hard to maneuver himself into a favorable light, into a position where he comes out on top or at least unchallenged. He is not a good listener. He rarely asks meaningful questions, preferring either to offer opinions or remain quiet. No one feels pursued by him except when their friendship might work to his advantage. When he does take an interest in you, it has the feel of a car salesman asking to see a picture of your family.

Unmanly men are controlling, destructive, and selfish. But these traits describe only what is visible to others, what people feel in his presence. Scratch beneth the surface (sometimes a thick one) and you will discover that there is, supporting these weeds, a root system that has a stubborn life of its own. In depths that usually remain unexplored, unmanly men feel powerless beneath their determination to control; a hateful rage empowers their destructiveness; and they are terrified to a degree that makes selfishness seem their only hope for survival.


MANLY MEN

An authentic man is very different. When the energy God has placed within a man is released,

1. the man knows he is strong, not powerless. Strong men take the initiative, even when they're not sure what to do. Their calling to reflect God in their manner of relating compels them more than their hope for power or their fear of impotence. A manly man is not an aggressive man; he is an ACTIVE MAN, involved in offering quality relationships to others, more committed to developing a strength that others can enjoy than to achieving for himself a sense of power and control.

2. The man experiences a state of being less angry, less easily threatened. Some call it peace. For him the phrase "more than a conqueror" means something, even during life's hard moments. A manly man's pain doesn't interfere with his feeling the plight of others, even when their troubles are less severe than his. He has the courage to face his experience honestly. He therefore feels the sadness of living in a fallen world, and the loneliness of living in imperfect community.

Manly men are enticed by the joys of freedom, by the unhindered chance to follow the call of manhood. A manly man is not addicted; he treats his body roughly, to avoid coming under a foreign power. He fights hard against his relentless desire for pleasure. He moves according to a plan. He is a PURPOSEFUL MAN who knows what he's about and what he can contribute to the purpose for which he is living.


One of the great tragedies of our day is that so many men are walking a path that they think leads to the joys of legitimate masculinity. It may be many years before those moving in wrong directions realize that the path they have been following releases masculine energy that is more corrupt than genuine, and that this path leaves them even more powerless, bitter, and terrified.


This is an excerpt taken from the book 'The Silence of Adam' written by Dr. Larry Crabb


Holla,
Yer Brova Catalyst