Last post I shared a bit of my heart, and how there are not enough young men stepping up into leadership roles and pursuing manhood… and that there are very few older men out there investing in the young males of today. However, I’ve started a new book call The Divine Mentor, by Wayne Cordeiro, and I feel like I missed a few key points and I want to make sure that Pastor Wayne gets full credit for many of the thoughts contained in this blog post. While I was pretty rough on the guys last week, I think you girls should pay attention as well.
To start, what is the root of the problem for boys and girls today? Is it that there aren’t enough males and females pouring into our youth? Are parents to blame for doing everything for their children and never letting them learn how to live life on their own? Is culture telling us that we should behave one way, when the Bible may suggest differently?
Perhaps.
But like all problems, there are usually many factors that will influence the outcome, but only one solution that we can control… ourselves.
Aspiring men and women, you and I have a choice to make no matter what our circumstances may be. Are we taking care of our own responsibility to grow ourselves? Or are we waiting for someone else to take over this responsibility for us? This is the first step in addressing any of life’s problem- understanding that we are responsible for our own development.
This does not mean that those we come in contact with will not heavily influence who we become. But if we have a problem, we need to be the first to respond.
We are not living in a State Farm commercial folks. If you want a hot tub, then you better earn it. If you wish to be mentored, then you need to go find someone to mentor you. If you need positive influences in your life, seek them out. If you are not being fed spiritually, then open your Bible. Do not sit and think that because you need guidance, or you need a mentor, that one will just pop out of thin air. Guys and girls, we need to initiate the process of becoming men and women of God by understanding that it is our responsibility to grow ourselves… and we cannot expect others to do it for us.
Yes, I do believe that God will provide us with plenty of relationships to help guide and lead our growth. But if a problem presents itself, first think about what we can do to address our problems, and not wait for others to come along and solve them for us.
Oh, and when there are no “mentors” readily available for us, why do we not look to the mentors of scripture that have been available to us for thousands of years? Men, look to Moses, Joshua, David, Nehemiah and save yourself a lot of pain and suffering by learning from their mistakes and their successes as leaders appointed by God. Women, why not look to Ruth, Esther, and Mary and see how you are to passionately pursue the love of God first and foremost?
The bottom line:
MEN understand that we are responsible for becoming real men of God, and that even if there is no one here to tell us how, it is our duty to pursue manhood regardless. We need to seek the answers to our many questions, expecting that they will not get answered until we pursue truth on our own.
WOMEN understand that while men are responsible for their own development, you too are held to the same standards. Look to the love of our Father first to fulfill your need for love, not from young men who do not fully understand how you should be loved.
Proverbs 4:7
Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
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