Play the Man

What does it mean to "play the man"?

This was an opening to a message given to a small group of men at the monthly, Calvary Chapel Redmond Men's Prayer Breakfast. Guest speaker Robert Case of Calvary Chapel Eastside shared what the Lord has been showing him in his walk as he learned to be a leader. In this blog post I wish to pass on the good message to you.

The phrase comes from 2 Samuel 10:12. The NIV translation says "Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight." The King James says it this way: "Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good." (emphasis added).

In today's society we see men tending to stagnate in adolescence. For example, men in their 20's and even 30's don't want to marry because it means taking on responsibility. And if they do marry, responsibilities are left unclaimed. This even has infiltrated the Christian church. But it is not the way God has intended it.

Robert described the responsibilities of leading and following using ball room dancing as an analogy. It's like this. The man: one hand on the small of the back of the woman, one hand up. The woman: one hand on the shoulder of the man, one hand up to meet the man's hand. The man leads simply by applying pressure using his hands and moving his body forward or backwards. The woman responds to this and follows. Now, if the man is not leading the woman would need to guess at the direction of where to go. Or if the woman is also trying to lead, it would look like an awkward wrestling match. She may move forward when he wants to move forward and it would look strained in struggling. But when done properly ball room dancing is an amazing and wonderful thing to see.

There are examples in the Bible of where men didn't "play the man". In the Garden when Eve was being seduced by the serpent, where was Adam? Was he in some far corner naming more animals? Looking closely at Genesis 3:6 you see he was right there with her. He simply stood by. He didn't play the man.

And there is Abraham and Sarah in Genesis chapter 20. Abraham told everyone Sarah was his sister because he feared he would be killed and allowed her to be taken by Abimelech. He put her in harm's way. He didn't play the man.

Another point made was that if a woman sees that the man's leadership is true self-sacrifice and good for the both of them, a woman shall be ready to accept it. As we men who are prompted to now "play the man", as we learn what it means to lead in this way, expect an adjustment of women to learn to trust the leadership. Ask for patience.

Long before hearing this message Anita has enouraged me to be more of a responsible leader in our household. She is incredibly patient because she knows I am the youngest from a large family. When growing up I've always been provided for and always have been the follower. But still she waits for me to learn to play the man.

Let us play the men for the people in our homes and families, for the people in our churches, for the people in our workplaces, and for people in our communities.

Wide, Long, High, and Deep

Last Tuesday we studied Ephesians Chapter 3 and at some length discussed Paul's prayer for the Ephesians in verses 14 through 21. There are two things which came out of this study for me.

Of course we admired Paul's prayer that we "may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ" (v 3:18 niv). It should be a prayer we carry with us as we are drawn to pray for our friends and family. This verse is the basis for the chorus in "The Love of Christ" by Wes King. And there's a verse that follows:

The width of two arms outstretched on a tree
The length of the road to Calvary
The height of the crown on a cruel cross
The depth of the pain is the cost

And what more should we pray for? Paul says, "and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God".

This intrigued us. How do you know something that supasses knowledge? What does that really mean? We thought, "Is Paul using hyperbole here?" He did in verse 3:8 when he says, "I am less than the least." We almost missed an important point but the Lord prompted us to dig further.

To answer this we went to the original Greek manuscript. You see, the word "know" and the word "knowledge" are not from the same root. The Blue Letter Bible online has a concordance with original Greek. The word "knowledge" in this verse was translated from the Greek word "gnosis" which signifies general intelligence and understanding. But the word "know" is translated from the Greek word "ginosko" which means to become acquainted with. Aha! There's the difference.

Here's an example. I can say I know (gnosis) Wes King. I've listened to his music since day one. I know most of the verses of his songs and know what state he grew up in. I even met him once at a concert. But I don't really know (ginosko) him.

We may fail our discipleship and do this with Christ. We can read the Bible, memorize scripture, study where Jesus came from and learn where he went, all of this being knowledge but yet we won't know him. Although shiny on the outside what empty vessels we would be.

Of couse we shall not forsake reading the Bible and memorizing scripture, and the such. But furthermore the Lord wants us to know (ginosko) Him, and He to know (ginosko) us. He wants us to be filled to the measure with all the fullness of Himself.

FRANgelism

I've been listening to the TruthForLife series on FRANgelism: How to witness to Friends, Relatives, Associates and Neighbors.

In the February 23rd broadcast Alistair Begg reminded us that no matter how well we may describe the gospel in words, it will not be effective unless our lives reflect it.

He quoted a poem (you can also find a version of it here):
"You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day,
By the deeds that you do and the words that you say.
Men read what you write distorted or true.
So what is the gospel according to you."