Heads Up

I often wonder how men can sit in one office all day every day for their whole careers. I feel like a lion in a cage when I am confined to my office. I think that is why I have always gravitated towards outside sales jobs. A profession that keeps me moving all the time and provides a constant sense of "hunting" for the next deal. 

When I think of a man being stuck in an office I wonder if this doesn't often deprive a man of a lot of the things that God has created them to do. As a man, I know that I wasn't created to sit in an office and talk endlessly on a phone. I was not designed for mindless, repetitive work that sacrifices every spark of creativity that I possess. I, we, you, were designed for WAR! We all were designed to struggle and strive to protect and provide. 

Most of the sports that I have grown to love appeal to me because they reveal what is pent up inside of me. The problem is that we are not supposed to like to watch two men fighting in a steel structure with chain link fence all around it called an octagon. We were designed to be in the fight ourselves. 

In the Old Testament, the cities in Israel were fortified with stone walls and many watch towers. And guess what? Around the clock there were men guarding it! They were scanning the horizon for potential threats to their home. And if one presented itself these brave men alerted the city. 

You might ask, what does this have to do with me? 

We are all called to do our part to watch over our family. Just praying over them isn't enough. We have to stand watch over our wives and children just the way the brave men stood on the wall for the people of their city. We have to resist the urge to see these guys as special or elite troops. They were men just like me and you. The work their regular job and acted like men. They were typical guys that like to do typical things. They might like to hunt and fish or play golf. They might have taught a sunday school class or they might have helped the elderly or widows with projects around their house. 

There is nothing worse than a man that leaves his family vulnerable. He might pray for their safety or for them to be blessed but he leaves the TV or internet unlocked or when he is at home is either still consumed with work that he ignores the signs of danger around him or if he's not working he is checked out completely, unaware of where his family is headed. It pains me to see men that do their job at work but fail to work for those that need it the most. 

Our highest priority after God is to our family. My first priority after God is to my wife. Her safety, security, and happiness comes before all others even my self. And after her come my children. In exactly that order. I am the one that is to stand guard on my wall not my neighbor, not my pastor, not my father, or my friends. I am responsible to watch and make sure that no threat enters my home. 

The history of the world is littered with men that have laid their lives down to rescue and protect the man that they fight with. Bravery comes out in men when they are faced with a now or never situation. They are not given time to count what it will cost them. They simply just act. When this time comes a "man" will often do what only a "man" can do...show true courage! Did this come from the training that they receive? Nope. It was placed in you, me, and every other man on the face of the planet. It is implanted deep in our DNA. God gives us all this courage and calls us all to stand and fight. 

Men now is not the time to put your heads down and trudge on. It is time the real "men" stand up and say no more. We will watch over our families. We will not depend on someone else to protect or teach our children. We will  be the men that God built us to be. 

Men it is time to get your HEADS UP!