What Every Man Needs
““You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance… Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.””
It was Father’s Day recently and as I reflected on my dad and father-in-law, as well as my efforts, I began to think about all the men in my church. They come from all walks of life. Some are young, some are old. Some are new to faith, some are lifelong disciples of Jesus. Some know their Bibles well, some just downloaded the Bible app recently! Some love God and some don’t yet.
As I thought about it, I reflected on our Men’s Ministry’s purpose, to assist men in developing dependable friendships, personal integrity, and profound Christ-centered growth.
You see there are largely two areas that Paul encourages Titus to impart to Men from these verses:
Self-Control (Sensible, Control over their desires) Wisdom from Emotional Health
Soundness (Healthy and Whole) Wisdom from Spiritual Health
The self-control Paul is referring to here is control over desires, this kind of control is wisdom that comes from processing yourself so that you can attain emotional health. The soundness that Paul speaks of is the holistic steadiness that permeates our lives in Christ. It's the kind of steadiness that remains despite when our expectations are not met. This is only possible through the surrendering of yourself so that you may receive spiritual health. So what is it that every man needs and how do we receive soundness and self-control?
Every Man needs Dependable Friendships.
Regardless of who you are, you need other people. If you read in Genesis you’ll note that there is a point in the creation account where God has made man, but not woman yet. The Lord looks at the man and simply states, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” It is striking to me, that in all of creation, before the fall, before we rebelled against God, that same holy and good God saw loneliness and declared it not good.
The beautiful thing about what Christ has done for us is that he does not just carry reconciliation for us to be in a relationship with God, but with each other. If you attempt to tune multiple pianos to sound like one another all you’ll end up with is a cacophonous mess. However, when you attune many pianos to one tuning fork, suddenly they are one, and they can be perfectly in tune with one another. Christ is the tuning fork who brings us together in unity regardless of the differences of background and gender or any other category. There is no Jew or Gentile, no slave or free, all are one in Christ. And if all are one in Christ, it means we can encourage one another daily as we await His return.
Every Man needs Personal Integrity
In April 2020, a sinkhole appeared in the Black Hawk community of Hideaway Hills. One reporter wrote this a few months after the event,
“… a sinkhole swallowed up his neighbor’s front yard, while Reitz was mowing his own yard. A powerful, vacuum-like wind tugged at his back and diverted his attention from overgrown grass to an unwelcome pit and burst pipes. The Black Hawk man was only a few feet away from peril. He says he’s lucky to be alive… Since that fateful day, the sinkhole slowly deteriorates and the homes with it.”
They discovered that the entire community was sitting on top of an abandoned undisclosed 1920s mine. All of the homes immediately lost any value they had because of the lack of foundation underneath. Nobody wants to build a home on a hollow foundation.
If you lack personal integrity in your life it doesn’t matter what house you have, how much you make, or how busy and impactful you are, you’ll simply be hollow. The soundness that is a by-product of having a relationship with God is what produces steadiness in our lives.
Every Man Needs Christ-Centered Growth.
Without God, nothing else matters, with God, nothing else matters. In his opening sermon on January 7th, 1885, C. H. Spurgeon spoke these words,
“Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief, and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore. Would you lose your sorrow? Would you drown your cares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead's deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated.” - C H Spurgeon Jan 7 1885 sermon at New Park Street Chapel
When we meditate on who God is, and knowing him and not just knowing about him, it produces true peace. This is why as an antidote to earthly fear and worry, Christ reminds us of who our Heavenly Father is and what he is like. He calls us to himself, ever inward, to know Him is to know the Father. To know the Father is to know the Son. By His Holy Spirit, we are drawn deeper and deeper into the mysteries of God.
Dwell on the goodness, the majesty, and the power of God and you’ll find that the troubles in life look small and the gratitude for the good things you have in life will grow large.
Every man needs dependable friendships, personal integrity, and Christ-centered Growth. My prayer for you is that through God’s provision, you would find and build these relationships. I also pray that you would live a life worthy of the calling you have received in Christ, a sound life of integrity. Finally, I pray that you would know God well.
