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The Epidemic of Weak Men

Looking out my window, I see that spring has arrived.  I love watching new plants emerge from the soil and old favorites bloom after a season of dormancy.

Soon those fledgling plants will grow tall and strong, with a sturdy stem and deep, hearty roots.

With a little TLC, these plants can thrive, produce flowers, and can even create sturdy offspring as mirror images of themselves.

Just like those plants blossom; young, wild boys seem to grow in the blink of an eye.

Hopefully, like my tiny plants, boys will mature into men with deep roots of faith and a sturdy “stem” of biblical values.

The Epidemic of Weak Men Faith Along the Way

But there’s an epidemic sweeping our world, one where the modern man is viewed as a weak, buffoon who can do little right.

Few TV shows and movies portray a dad who is strong, godly and isn’t weak in some way.

When the role of the father is downgraded and portrayed as a fool, it damages the family unit and God’s design for families.

God created man in His image, to guide the family unit with strength, dignity, and to be in charge as the head of household.

Man is to shepherd his family spiritually and to be an active participant in family life, not just provide financially.

This concept is far from popular, and if we’re honest, we’ll admit that man has strayed from God’s design.

How can we rally around men and change this pattern of society?

While it might seem pie-in-the-sky to believe that we can change the course of a sinful, fallen world, we can take steps to encourage the men in our lives and in our community to be whom God created him to be, thus strengthening the family unit one man at a time.

We can start mending this epidemic, with support and encouragement from these three crucial communities.

Women can …

  • Love her husband where he’s at, flaws and all.
  • Recognize that she can not, no matter how much she wants to, change her husband.
  • Don’t compare him to other men and embrace who he is as a person.
  • Pray for salvation, in case he doesn’t know the Christ as Savior.
  • Hit her knees and pray that God will grow her spouse, into a godly man who seeks the Lord.
  • Encourage mentoring with a godly male who will hold him accountable to being a strong, godly husband and father.
  • Allow him to lead the family, even if he’s fumbling through it.

Strong Man Quote Faith Along the Way

The family unit can….

When we look at men who are strong in faith, character, and in action, it didn’t happen by chance.

God got a hold of that man at some point in his life, and His Truth took root and blossomed in his heart.

When God’s Truth takes root, it changes a life and belief system, while calling for a change in behavior.

While there are many strong men with rough backgrounds, the family can try to raise a God-fearing man by encouraging strength from the Lord and by instilling His virtues from the beginning.  They can…

 

  • Raise their sons in a Bible based home, while praying for salvation at an early age.
  • Grow their boy with biblical principles and teach what the Bible says about being a man after God’s own heart.
  • Offer a godly, male role model, even if the father is not one. Find a relative or friend from church to shepherd the young boy and demonstrate the life of a strong man of God in action.
  • Be involved with putting limits on his time and activities, as to place value on time together.
  • Outline Truth from God’s Word against the ways of society, such as pornography, so the child has a strong foundation in Christ to stand on when temptation comes.
  • Offer a safe place to discuss temptation and sin, pointing back to the Word of God as the compass for life.

Men can…

  • Embrace God’s calling on their life as the head of the house and spiritual leader of the family.
  • Study God’s Word to be a living example to their children.
  • Get to know their children and make them a priority.
  • Put Christ at the center of the home with family devotional and prayer time.
  • Allow the Holy Spirit to convict and change behavior as a relationship with the Lord deepens.
  • Find a mentor and/or godly role models who aren’t afraid to speak Truth and offer accountability.
  • Love their wife and show children how a strong, godly man treats a woman.

Friends, if I’m being honest, I look at this list and think, wow, is this possible?

And then I remember that with God, ALL things are possible!

God can take a broken, weak man, and refine His character.

God can strengthen the family unit as dads become aware of their role and pray for revival.

God can restore family relationships when He becomes the center of the home.

While we can’t change society or their warped views, we can vow to stop the epidemic of weak men in our own home and in our community.

We can rally around those men we see trying to lead their families and who are standing firm for Christian values, and we can offer a helping hand to those who are struggling.

Together, let’s spark a revival in the homes and churches around the world, reclaiming men as pillars of the home and creating strong families once again!  #strongfamilyproject

 

29 Comments

  1. I agree about the meddling wives! There are times I’ve literally had to bite my tongue, but I am always amazed how God handles it when I give Him room to work. None of this is easy, but God is still in the business of changing lives!!!

  2. And we can always speak about our husbands in a way that makes our kids look up to him, and never in a way that pokes fun at him or downplays his importance in our lives!

    1. YES! I could not agree more and so many women do not do this. Thanks for the great reminder!

  3. Strong families need strong men. I love this post an will be sharing it!

    1. I so appreciate you sharing! God bless all those men in our lives!

  4. I love this call to action for raising up men and fathers. I do see this epidemic in our country right now. You share some valid points and great ideas that I will share with my sons’ future wives. Thank you! Visiting you from the #RaRalinkup.

    1. Thanks you, Mary! It’s a sad state of the world we live in, but we can change it, one family at a time!

  5. Loved reading this insightful article – I have never thought about it from this viewpoint before. Most men on TV are really the “jokes” of the family or not taken very seriously, or they’re out living secret lives. Thank you for sharing this!

    1. Thanks, Erin! It hit me one day recently just how most shows have weak dads and strong moms, and that just bothered me! 🙂

  6. Whew, does this hit home! My husband and I like to watch the comedy shows on ABC and we often comment that they portray the main male characters as anything but “smart” or “strong”, “knowledgable” or “admired”.

    Bringing up two boys, we know that this atmosphere of male bashing can’t exist in our home. As we pray over them each night, it’s for strength and leadership…and a keen sense of the Holy Spirit living in them. Thank you so much for speaking out and lifting up our men and boys this week!!

    1. I agree! It’s so disheartening and discouraging to continue to watch men be portrayed as fools! I love your idea to pray specifically for strength and leadership, since it’s exactly what our men are called to do.

  7. It took me years to learn that he had to WANT to change, I couldn’t just MAKE it happen. I was looking from the outside in, seeing the issues and thinking “How can you not want to improve this?” He was working from the inside and still trying to figure out what worked for him. The best thing I did was learn to a) pick battles (some things may never change, but does it REALLY matter? If not, move on) and b) learn to lead by example instead of by lecture. I went on with my life the way I knew I had to live, and, imagine that, he stopped resisting and started working WITH me.

    I think it can be hard for those in my generation to let the men lead because we are the first group that really had boys raised in that whole “you don’t have to be rough to be a boy”, which is true, but it seems people went all the way around to the other side of it and tried to take ALL the boy out. My husband has said how hard it was for him to learn to be a good husband because growing up he had never seen one. It was only as an adult, seeing other men his age who were doing it well, that he realized there was a difference.

    1. Oh yes! He has to want to change! I couldn’t agree more! It’s so hard to sit back and do “nothing” but pray, but God can change his heart. I find that when I am nagging or forcing him to change, it does nothing to change him and nothing to help our marriage. Great insight on the whole letting him lead! I agree, it can be SO difficult! Thanks for your incredible opinion and for weighing in on this!

  8. This is outstanding! Thank you so much for writing this! I will be sharing this with my husband tonight. Thanks for all the tips for the men, women, and family. Awesome read!

    1. You are so sweet, Amanda! I’m glad it blessed and even more glad you are talking to your hubby about it. Communication is key!

  9. Wonderful post, Sarah Ann! I so appreciate my husband’s strength and am raising 3 young men here, so this is a great concern to me. I love how practical you made this…there are things we can do specifically to fight against the epidemic. Great encouragement! #RaRaLinkup

    1. Thank you, Angela! It’s great to connect with you and find you through the #RaRaLinkup! Many blessings on raising strong, godly men!

  10. I think that there are plenty of strong, Christian men… but we don’t celebrate them enough. I think we need to! I think our #mancrushmondays should be our spouses! And we would be wise to learn the power in submission as wives.

    1. Great idea to celebrate those godly men more! May we get in the habit of letting them know how blessed we are to have them in our lives!

  11. We do so need to pay for our husband’s, I don’t do this nearly enough. Thanks for the reminder!

    1. Me too! I need to be on my knees for him WAY more than I am now!

  12. Amen! That’s what I want for my son. Praying that he grows learning this and wanting it for himself. Thank you for sharing.

    1. I want that for my son, too! Praying that I can help mold him into who God wants him to be!

    1. Good for you! There are so many wonderful, godly men out there! Glad you found one!

  13. I’m so glad you wrote this. The family is the most basic building block of our society, and if the family crumbles, society crumbles with it. We absolutely need to rally behind our husbands and lift them up, and be their “help meet.”

    1. Amen! So well said and I truly appreciated your insight. God bless!

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