The Man, The Myth, The WARRIOR!

Yesterday in what seems to be becoming a trend trip to OKC the study and the thoughts were wrapped around men and our expectation to be warriors. Warriors for what we believe in. Warriors for God, righteousness, our faith, the people we love, even the people we find hardest to love. Warriors for the ideals, beliefs, and motives that we are most passionate about.

In a great revelation by the ever talented speaker Craig Groeschel I was challenged to realize that men are intended to be warriors, to be fighters, and to no get pushed around. And that really over time society, and mainly the church has made men into nice, easy, pushovers with no backbone for what they believe.

So I guess the question that has really been going through my mind for the last year or so is this; "If the cause isn't worth fighting for, then is it really worth anything at all?"

Today during my quiet time (which was actually pretty loud due to the atmosphere at this coffee shop) I dug into Hebrews 10. No real reason, but I guess since it is Easter I am drawn to the thought and studies of Christ's greatest sacrifice for us. I am drawn to the fact that JC was the greatest warrior of all time and that his manly efforts led to the cross and the grave and reserection, which led to my freedom and burden-less life that allows me to do even the simplest tasks like writing this blog. Hebrews 10 rocks, its convicting though so if you don't want anything to do with that maybe choose a Dr. Seuss book instead. But in all seriousness it clicked today. Wrap your mind around this and see where it takes you...

Hebrews 10:26 says, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left." This passage to me is great because v.24 talks about encouraging one another, v.25 talks about fellowship and accountability, and then there is v.26, the verse that we, at least I, often try to overlook, lays it out there and says: personally you need to start taking care of your own business -- quit hiding and go to work. If we back track a little bit and take a look at 'Brews' 9:27 it seems to put that statement into great perspective saying, "Just as man is destine to die once, and after that face judgment." Are we not we not to take care of business while we are here on earth? 10:27 talks about the only thing we have left if we deliberately keep on sinning is a fearful expectation of judgment.
So I guess here is my point. If we just sit back and be complacent pansy Christians all we end up becoming is fearful, guilt-stricken, complacent pansy Christians. -- If it doesn't take works and a fight to get into heaven that is one thing (and an argument for another time), but those works and fight sure help our sanity in the time being.

Historically the biggest impacts came with struggle, persecution, work, and of course a fight. Ghandi, MLK, Mandela, and of course JC, have shown extreme proof of this. And have also shown that through persistence, patience, perseverance, compassion, and the heart of a warrior, a heart that is not afraid to take a stand for what they believe in that their goals are attainable. That a true difference can indeed be made. -- So back to the manly warrior soapbox, I guess there comes a point in time when as men we are asked to fulfill our role of being just that; men. We are asked to be figures of authority, we are needed to be a refuge for safety and trust, we are put in the position to be the protector or even a guardian. We as men must be patient and compassionate. We must not show disregard for emotion. We must be persistent without being overbearing. And we must have perseverance to battle our weakness. If we aren't balanced gentlemen we can't be perfect warriors. We must fight and we must fight smart. We can't run into life, into battle, without a game plan, without direction. The time to go to battle is today, why are we so comfortable that nothing seems worth fighting for?

So I guess that brings me back to my question. No matter the capacity, whether it is for humanity, spirituality, or just an argument over coffee with a thought provoking friend: "If the cause isn't worth fighting for, then is it really worth anything at all?"