Thank Goodness It’s Friday!
Listened to a message while flying the other day which talked about two major hurdles men have to overcome as seen in Genesis Chapter 3. Chapter 3 is the story of the fall in the Garden of Eden where Eve is tempted by the enemy to eat the one piece of fruit they were told not to eat while Adam stood by and did nothing and ultimately joined in without question. This act ushered sin into the world and broke mans fellowship with God. It also exposed two of mans biggest hurdles to overcome in life.
The first is passivity. Men are not supposed to be passive, yet that is exactly what Adam was throughout this event. He was told he had dominion over the earth, was to work to protect and run it. But the whole time Eve was being tempted he was nowhere to be found. And then when he had the chance to lead and not follow Eve, he passively joined in without question. Many men continue this passive way even today. Men are supposed to lead (the right way) not sit idly by and watch things happen. Not only are we sitting by doing nothing today to fight the wrongs in the world, we are actually ok with that stance. We are ok with the “it’s not my problem” attitude. Men are way to passive.
The second is selfish aggression. One of Eve’s punishments was that her husband would rule over her. No matter what exactly God intended that to be, in way to many instances man had taken that to a selfish, aggressive level that is sinful in everyway. Verbal, emotional, and physical abuse is not what He intended. And man doesn’t stop there. Shortly after the garden we see the first murder which was based in selfish aggression. Men are supposed to love, protect, lead and nurture. They are not supposed to abuse and kill. Yet we live in one of the most violent times in history. Men are entirely to aggressive with the things that we are supposed to love and protect.
What we see is what often happens. We go from one extreme to the other while peace and love is found in the middle. If we are firm and stand for the right thing while loving and caring for those around us, we will begin to see what God really has for us. And to do this, we have to look to Him for strength, truth, grace and love. We need to look at the example of Jesus as He didn’t passively sit by and let the enemy win any longer, but instead lovingly led people to the truth of God and then ultimately sacrificed His life for others.
How about you? Are you sitting passively by watching the enemy sweep through the world? Or are you aggressively attacking all around you causing damage to all you come in contact with? I guarantee that if you are at either extreme, you are not at peace. Be the man God intended. Lead with love. Protect, strengthen and guide those around you towards the grace and truth of God. You will feel a sense of joy and strength you never thought possible. And more importantly, God will whisper well done good and faithful man.
Be great today!
Thank Goodness It's...... 