What really makes a man…a MAN? There are a lot of ideas and opinions on who a man should be in our society. But in order to really know what a man should do you have to look at the ultimate man…Jesus Christ. He is THE man. No one gave us a greater example of who God created man to be than the example we find in Jesus.
There are many lessons we could learn about being a man from the life of Jesus, but here are a few traits that stick out to me about being a M.A.N.
M.A.N. has…
M = Motivation
Jesus didn’t need anyone to tell Him to get going. He knew His mission, He was committed to His purpose, and He was passionate about His cause. We as men need to follow His leading. The word “Lazy” and “Man” put together should be an oxymoron, they should never co-exist. This does not mean that a man can’t get rest and have some down time. But understand that rest is the break that is needed in order to refuel and get going again, not a lifestyle of doing nothing. Motivation is something that has to happen everyday not simply every now and then. Zig Ziglar said, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing, that’s why we recommend it daily.”
A man has to find what motivates them. Remember, there is no such thing as an motivated person, it is just someone who hasn’t found what motivates them. Everyone is motivated by something. The key is to identify what gets you going. Once you take the time to know your motivation, you must do everything in your power to harness it and leverage it. Don’t believe the myth that you have to find your motivation. You don’t find motivation…YOU CREATE IT! Once you get going and do what you should be doing the motivation will come.
A = Attitude
Jesus’ attitude was unbelievable. He never allowed His attitude to get out of His control. Attitude can make or break your influence and impact in this life. If a man can’t get control of his attitude, his attitude WILL control him. Jesus always displayed an attitude of a servant. Wait…did you get that? A servant…not an attitude of a boss. Many men want to win which can be a great thing when it comes to projects, tasks, and themselves, but when your drive to win effects your relationships someone then becomes the loser. Jesus didn’t try to win by competing with people, He won by completing people. He served them and put their needs above His very own.
2 Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV)
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Author Gordon MacDonald said, “You can tell whether you are becoming a servant by how you act when people treat you like one.” Let your attitude be one of a servant and you will always find people you can impact.
N = Navigation
The big joke about men is that they don’t stop and ask for directions. However, the Bible says that there is wisdom in the council of many. A wise man will always surround himself with those who can help. The temptation for a man is to try and do everything himself. But when we go solo and try to be a modern day Rambo, it never works. Rambo is awesome for a movie, but is just that…a movie, not real life. We were created for community. It is alright to ask for help in life. The enemy wants nothing more than for a man to hide his struggles, questions, and challenges from others. But this is a trick from the enemy to sabotage a man’s potential. The more we open up to the right people the greater we can navigate through life. Jesus surrounded Himself with the disciples. He navigated through life with a group of other guys. This is a great model. We need to make sure we find a group of other men that we can journey through life with.
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