Deuteronomy 6:5
Colossians 3:17
1 Peter 3:15

Challenge: What definition of good and of manhood should we live by?

Man’s purpose in this world is so unique, that it is meant to be one of such service and sacrifice, that he cannot fulfill his role successfully without doing so to the glory of God. There are many reasons for this.

First, a man cannot fulfill his purpose if he is living for applause, approval, and affirmation in this world. Instead, he contents himself with knowing he is fulfilling his purpose in this world and pleasing the God who made him. His reward comes when he is able to say, as we heard the Scottish Olympian and missionary Eric Liddell say in Chariots of Fire, “When I run, I feel his pleasure.”

Second, a man is meant to carry such responsibility that, if he’s not careful, he will descend into exhaustion and resentment without the inner resources that come from living in connection with God. We cannot do what we are assigned to do without strength and energy beyond our own.

Third, men are meant to tend the lives of others in such a way that they must have insight that comes from beyond them. It comes from his Word. It comes from living to the glory of God.

I keep it simple. I can’t live up to God’s standards without God’s resources. I become the man I am made to be by living to the glory of God.

This gives us Mansfield’s Manly Maxim #4: Manly men live to the glory of God.

Challenge: What definition of good and of manhood should we live by?