"Take it Like a Man"

Good day to you my brothers and sisters in Christ. First off, I want to thank God for giving me another 24 hours  of mercy and grace.

I wanted to share something with you that I received Monday night during the all-male worship at my church.

Pastor Haynes dubbed the mini-sermon, if you will, "Take it Like a Man."

The message he gave was based off of a discussion concerning the many images that bombard young men in today's time, especially young, black men. Images such as those that depict us a being thugs or that the only way to succeed is through entertainment or sports.

The pastor gave this example of a study done many years ago where hundreds of people were placed in a crooked room with crooked images, sitting in a crooked chair and then were asked to stand up straight.

The surprising conclusion was that many couldn't stand up straight because they instead adjusted to the crooked images in the crooked room while only a few did the unthinkable and stood up straight in a crooked room with crooked images....which brings us to this text in the Bible.

In  Judges 6 and 7, the Bible tells the story of a man named Gideon, who was visited by the Angel of the Lord that he was called to save the Israelites from their oppressors. Gideon had his objections but the Angel called him a man of valor.

He then asks God how should he go about saving his people in Chapter 7 to which God answers by commanding him to form an army to fight the Midianites. When God saw the 32,000 men, He said to Gideon that it was too many...so Gideon asks that all men who were scared to return to their homes so the camp shrunk down to 22,000 men.

God then has Gideon take the 22,000 to the river to have a drink and commanded him to separate those who lap up the water like a dog from those who bend down on their knees and cup the water with their hands.

 The number of men then shrank down to only 300. God wanted only 300 men so that the praise of victory will wholly be unto God. The activity and prudence go with dependence upon God for our help in lawful undertakings. When the Lord sees that men will overlook him and through unbelief, would shrink from perilous services, he will set them aside and do his work by other instruments.

He doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called! God will take a committed minority to battle a wild majority.

God doesn't want fearful and timid men, he wants those individuals who will fight the good fight with courage and bravery. It's time for the young people of today to take back our communities and become positive role models to younger individuals who look up to them.

 Gideon didn't think he was capable of defeating the Midianites but he put his trust in God and with His help, the Midianites were destroyed.

Whatever gift God has given you, cultivate it and believe that God will use you to become productive citizens and advance the Kingdom.

Will you be the one who will stand up straight in a crooked room or will you just simply adjust to the crooked images?

Remain Blessed.