5 Pillars of Manhood & Womanhood

This Sunday we had Jaeson Ma (http://www.jaesonma.com/) speak at our church.  We were impacted by his challenge to embrace discipleship (bearing the outward fruit of becoming like Jesus that comes from an inward experience of God's grace), his encouragement to plant 12 churches in 5 years (only God can help us do that!), and his vision for more instruments, more teams, more songs, and more prayer to fuel an extraordinary outbreak of the worship of Jesus in the Fenway.

Recently, Jaeson wrote a blog entry that went viral (the servers for his blog went down because of all the hits!) called the 5 Pillars of Manhood.  I believe all the hits highlight a serious hunger in our culture to know what manhood is really all about; a subject we are addressing in our church's series on Sex, Love & Identity.  Personally, I have a life-long commitment to train young men to be real men.  We need fathers, brothers, and men of courage to step up in our churches and culture.  Jaeson's post also raised some comments from my friends - what does becoming a godly woman look like?

So, I've first put together some scripture references for all you guys to look up that will show why Jaeson's 5 pillars of manhood are Biblical. So first read Jaeson's blog entry. Then, get your Bible out, roll up your sleeves & go see what God has to say about your identity.

5 Pillars of Manhood
1) Lead - Titus 2:6-8, Ephesians 5:23, I Timothy 2:12-14
Remember the call to lead in a marriage relationship is a call to servant leadership that starts with serving your sisters now, see below.
2) Protect - Genesis 2:15, I Timothy 6:11-12, I Timothy 5:1-2
The word "keep" in Genesis means tend/guard/protect.
3) Provide - Proverbs 24:27, Genesis 2:15, Matthew 25:14-30, Ephesians 5:25-29
In other words get a job so you can get married and provide for your wife (or give to the kingdom), be provider not a consumer.
4) Integrity - Daniel 1:8 Corinthians 6:18, I Timothy 6:13-14
We must follow through, prove our commitment, and be culture shapers not cultural sponges.
5) Courage - I John 2:13-14, Matthew 10:16-20, Joshua 1:6-7
It takes courage to preach the gospel, start a family, and live as a light in this world. Do it!

And for the ladies... 

 

Note that I spoke with my mother (an amazing woman of God, teacher, and mother of 6!) who provided the majority of this material and scripture references as an older woman instructing younger women (per Titus 2:3).  When you read this, hear her voice coming through. Let's go!

5 Pillars of Womanhood

1) Worship - Luke 7:36-50, John 5:15-20, John 12:1-11, Luke 2:36-38, Exodus 38:8
God is seeking women after his own heart.  He is passionately in love with you and wants you to be passionately in love with him.  All of our lives (men and women) are an act of worship, but women are especially seen as lavish worshippers in the Bible.  The sinful woman washing Jesus' feet with her tears.  The Samaritan woman at the well seeking a place of worship.  Mary breaking her alabaster vial.  And Anna's life of continual prayer and fasting modeled after the Old Testament women who ministered to the Lord at the entrance to his Presence, the tabernacle.  A woman's passion should be to please her Lord through a life centered around the extravagant worship of Him. Single woman have a unique opportunity to be single-mindedly devoted to God.  Fight being distracted by trying to find mister right or getting ensnared in wordly pursuits.  Your creativity, devotion, love, and emotions are all meant to be used as expressions of worship and praise to God.  He loves to minister to you and loves when you minister back to Him.  You were created for worship and relationship.

2) Worry-Free - I Corinthians 7:34-35, Luke 10:41-42, I Peter 1:3-4, Matthew 6:50
God wants you to be worry free!  Free from all worry! He doesn't want you to be anxious about your appearance, adornments, or about pleasing anybody (if you are single, wives you get to please your husbands!).  God has actually called you to be anxious about only one thing the development of your spirit in holiness and devotion to him.  That is something HE is glad to do inside of you - his yoke is easy and his burden is light - he delights to shape you into his own image.  He wants you to be a woman at rest in the midst of busyness, at peace in the midst of turmoil. Like Jesus he wants you to have a quiet and gentle spirit (Matthew 11:28-30) that is unfazed by the proliferation of tasks or the judgments of others.

3) Inner Beauty - I Peter 1:3-4, I Timothy 2:9-10, I Timothy 3:11, Proverbs 31:30-31 
My mom says, "God wants us as women to be focused on our inner person not our outward appearance. We are not to be defined by 'being wearers of costly garments' but by the inner beauty God created us with (Genesis 1:27)."  The devil subverts your true beauty causing you to compare yourself with others or malign them with your words.  You were created for so much more.  You don't need to be in a relationship to prove your worth or have a boyfriend to tell you are beautiful.  God knows you are beautiful and created you to be respected for who you are on the inside - not by success, money, power, or appearance.  God loves your healthy humility that is based on your sense of self-worth and your respectable modesty that is based on the knowledge you do not need to be seen by others.  You are called to be trustworthy and temperate.  It is your inner beauty that he longs for others to know - a gentle and quiet heart at rest in the midst of a world that glorifies fleeting charm and fading outward beauty.  Your fear and knowledge of the Lord is what will bring you praise even from an unbelieving world.  The way of humility and inner beauty is the path to honor, success, and affirmation.

4) Devotion - I Corinthians 7:34 (NIV), Ephesians 5:22, I Timothy 5:10, Genesis 2: 18, Acts 21:9
Women are created to nurture others.  They naturally nurture growing babies in their womb and are called to create a nurturing home environment for their husbands, children, and the church.  The word devotion means ardently dedicated and loyal.  This describes so many of the wives, mothers, and sisters I know.  Women are called in this order to be devoted:

To the Lord.
To their husbands.
To their children.
To the church.

Wives model Jesus' obedience, humility, and servanthood when they submit to their husbands leadership and make their first focus their home, husband, and children.  The Proverbs 31 wife finds times for both her primary call of homemaking and for business opportunities!  Go girls! Women, you are called to be helpers just like the Holy Spirit is a powerful helper to us (John 14:26).  Godly women devote themselves to serving the church and meeting the needs of its poor and ministries.  They are deacons and prophetesses, servants and queens, judges and mothers, church planters and worship leaders, and so much more.  Women, your devotion to God and your devotion to others reveal the loving heart of God and the majesty of his character.  He is 100% dedicated to the fulfillment of your desires and is ardently loyal to his daughters who bring him unimaginable joy.

5) Works - I Timothy 2:9-10, Acts 9:36-39, Luke 8:3, I Timothy 5:14, Titus 2:5, Proverbs 31:10-31
Women, you are called to good works. It is the outward fruit of your inner life with Jesus.  Dorcas, who is one of the few people ever raised from the dead beside Jesus, was described as full of good works and charity.  Her care for the poor was exemplary.  Some of Jesus disciples, who were women, supported Jesus' ministry out of their own means.  Women, especially single women, can use the skills and talents God has given them to generate wealth for the kingdom. Women are called to be managers, entrepreneurs, home makers, real estate buyers, and to use their creative abilities in fashion, business, the arts and more.  Women are called to work hard and plan ahead.  You are to maximize every gift God has given you to reveal how great God is to others.  Your good works will praise you and bring glory to God.