In God we trust?

Learning to be a dependant man

Manhood is an interesting thing; so many perspectives, so many books, so many sites, so many opinions, so many examples. It is not surprising that we are often confused and that so many of our men don't honestly know what a man is supposed to look like. Especially, when it comes to work and providing for your family or yourself. What is acceptable? Can I work from home? What if my wife makes more than me? What if I don't have a career or I have zero college education? Can I still be a man? Yes, yes you can.

When God designed us men He designed us with intention, and that intention was to be the head of our household, kings and priests as scripture puts it. This is a concept that you and your wife need to be comfortable with, for it is Biblical, healthy and prosperous. There is nothing more sad than seeing a family in which the wife "wears the pants", it is emasculating and honestly embarrassing for your children and sadly this is too often the rule and not the exception in America. Now I am happily married to a fire cracker of a woman, she is both hot and explosive, not to mention Italian. She is the farthest thing from a simple minded weakling, she is not some drone disposable at my command, and she is by no means a step stool. She is my partner, my helper, lover of Christ, and as such she knows that even though she is completely capable of living on her own without my help, she submits to my authority as husband and looks to me for direction, encouragement, provision and most importantly an example of faith.

Notice that I said "most importantly" when I talked about being an example of Faith, I did this so that you may understand that as a man, it is more important for you to have tremendous faith than to have a consistent paycheck with an end of the year bonus. That's right, as a man your job is to be a provider by trusting on your provider... you still with me? The word of God says this, "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?," Matthew 6:26. You and your family have value. It's your job to believe God to provide for all of your needs, to spend time with Him, to listen to His voice, and to obey it, that is what a real provider does.

I once read a book and in it the author was having a conversation with a friend he said, "if the point of manhood is to provide our families with food, shelter and clothing, then congratulations, we are one step higher than possums." Don't get me wrong there is nothing honorable about a man that is a bum, and refuses to provide for his family because things are tough out there, however providing is more than a paycheck. Lets explore the attributes of a provider that I mentioned earlier:

1.Believe in God to provide.

Know that your job is not the source, know that you are not the hot shot, know that if God so desired to he could curse your life and leave you with nothing, it is this knowledge that keeps you humble and makes you overwhelmingly thankful for His grace, patience and favor, He is a good God and he wants to bless you, never the opposite, your job is to trust in that and be a firm anchor for your family when things get tough.

2.Spend time with Him.

You can never know how good He is until you talk to Him. You are liable to fall for every stupid false doctrine and believe every lie people tell you if you skip this vital alone time with your Father. The only way to know that God is in control is to spend time interacting with His word and the Holy Ghost.

3.Listen to His voice.

God wants to share his plans with you, He wants to tell you how to get out of debt, how to pay your mortgage and where you can find a good paying job. It is a sad and frustrating thing to try and figure things out on your own, listen to Him already.

4.Obeying Him.

Lets say you do 1 through 3 and God tells you to apply at the construction company down the road, but because you don't like to feel sticky when you sweat you say no God, instead, I am going to apply at the bank downtown, after all it is air conditioned. Three months later you are still waiting for a phone call from the bank, you are about to lose your home and you wonder why your children don't honor you. Its time for you to wake up, listen to His voice and obey. He will never lead you wrong and you will never fail at what He has set you up for. Quit trying to do things on your own, stop being lazy and follow his voice already.

Since the beginning of my marriage God has taken me through a wide variety of jobs. Some paid very well, some below minimum wage, nonetheless my family has never lacked and poverty can not touch us. This is not because I am a great provider, but because I am a dependant man. Dependant on what? Dependant on God.

Let me know how God has instructed you before or if you have been blessed directly form an obedient action on the comments.