The Strength of a Man


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O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows, do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on those who ruin kings. Prov. 31:2-3

If there is one thing I admire in men it's their strength. There are men who use their strength to defend the rights of the poor and the needy. There are those who use their strength to protect their families and cross many hurdles to ensure that they bring something home. There are those for whom their work is to keep watch in the battlefield enduring the sound of gunshots for the sake of their country. As you look around, you see impressive infrastructures that have been built by our able bodied men. Furthermore, they are those who spend sleepless nights in order to come up with the next greatest invention that would better our lives. To these men, I salute you.

The kind of men that stand out for me are those that God uses to bring us closer to Himself. They are the kind of men who leave the comfort of their homes and travel miles away in order to spread the gospel. When they speak, sing or act you can't help but fall deeper and deeper in love with God as you see the reflection of God in them.

The reality is that there are few men of this kind. Since time immemorial,  God knew that some men would not use their strength as they were supposed to - some would use it on women, others on wine, others will use it to beat their wives and children and for others they will just not use their strength at all - that's why He gave various bible verses to guide their paths. Men loose their strength not because of not eating delicious meals or not going to the gym but because of lacking judgment, hating discipline, last but not least, not paying attention to wisdom.

There are various men in the bible who lived exceptionally well but I would like to give special attention to two men. One of them goes by the name Joseph.This man was not privileged to be blessed with the wise words of Proverbs (Prov. 5, 6:20-35, 7) and the bible generally to guide him apart from a word from God but he literally fled from temptation in the form of Potiphar’s wife (Gen. 39).

The other man goes by the name Daniel. Daniel chose not to defile himself with the royal food and wine. He did not have the book of proverbs to tell him that wine would make him forget what the law decrees and so deprive all the oppressed of their rights (Prov. 31:5).

Joseph and Daniel took what God told them and ran with it. The word they had was more like this ‘do not do this…. because I am the Lord your God…..’They were not given detailed information as to the dire consequences of not following God’s command. Today’s man is faced with the same challenges maybe in a more intense way but he is fully equipped to gain victory over these challenges through the blood of the lamb and hiding the word of God in their hearts. 

To my strong men out there, there is no way you can choose to honor God and God does not honor you in return. You can clearly see how God exalted Joseph and Daniel after they decided not to defile themselves.  If we are ever going to have men of standing, of honor, in our society, these will be men who immerse themselves deeply in God’s word and are willing to pay whatever price to stand up for God's word even if it means being thrown into a prison cell or a furnace.

It can start here; malachi 2:14-16, 1 peter 3:7, Psalms 128, Eph. 5:25, 1 Tim 5:8

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