Men Talk By David The King

in Inspiration By Mccuon on 25 Feb 2016

1st Kings 2:1-4 is the guiding text of scripture to this piece. David charged Solomon his son with these words before he was gathered to his forefathers. In verse 2, David said “I am about to go the way of all the earth”. This reminds me of Genesis 3:19b “until you return to the ground since from the ground you were taken, for the dust you are and to dust you will return.” Thomas Fuller said, “No man should be afraid to die who has understood what it is to live.” David understood his time of departure and sought to prepare his soul how to live so that his departure would also be fulfilling.
The key note of this passage is that this was a Dad-Son at death-bed talk. It is normally brief but weighty. The key identified highlights are:
[a]. Be Strong- Show yourself a Man: Men are created to be strong but this is an attribute to be nurtured and developed. It should also be holistic, that is involving spiritual, emotional, physical and even economical aspect. Men are created to offer security and hope in the family, church and society. David further detailed the attributes meant to be in a strong-man, not just a man. They are the differential factors.
[i] Observe what the Lord your God requires. This is a call to obedience as well as being surrendered to God’s word. Salvation and obedience is not for the weak, the bar is too high for the weak. Solomon was commanded to walk in God’s ways, keep God’s commands and decrees, his laws and requirements written in the law of Moses. Remember Jesus said he didn’t come to abolish the Law of Moses but to strengthen it. Just evaluate with me: It is only the strong-man who can remain to worship the true and only God even when the godless seem to be doing better in the current world as described in Plasm 73. It requires strength to remain pure and holy in our talk, behavior and actions free from immorality and obscenity as it was required of the Israelites by Moses in his requirements; yet living among this perverse generation. Purity is being shelved for immorality; the immoral woman is on the loose; clothed in various titles such as aunties, cousins, step moms, teachers and strange women. It undoubtedly requires a strong-man to ZIP-UP.

Remember Moses cautioned us not to envy. An anonymous writer said “envy is the mad that failure throws as success”. The current society even in churches depicts a batch of men who are envious to the extent that we are changing the gospel to accommodate our failed character. It is only the strong man who can say no to adulteration of the gospel and be contented with what he has. Success is defined best when comparatively evaluated to God’s purposes of your being around this universe not when living better or as your friends live. It is only the STRONG MAN who can carefully and sensitively steer his family from competitive living and lifestyle to contentment. A true story is that, in a certain office, ladies were keen on their weights and could curse and swear to watch their weights. But if only one lady would request chips for lunch, majority of the others would equally order the same. This persisted to a point that chips were changed name to “peer pressure. This is the evidence of the level grown-ups contend with peer pressure as well. It is only the Strong man who can withstand this.
[ii] The observance of God’s law and commands is what yields to prosperity in all that we do and in all areas we live in. The society is slowly but surely coaching us to pray and claim for prosperity, positive thinking BUT very little of obedience to God’s Word. We are selectively teaching obedience only in areas that will promote higher financial giving, fame and less in pointing of evil among the leaders. But the society which is shaped by the family values now than ever before requires training of how to obey God’s command holistically. Only a strong-man will bite this bullet.
I challenge you [reader] to evaluate every thought, action and behavior to ensure you bring out a better world from your trainings. It requires strength to love the unlovable, as Mother Teresa said, “if you judge people, you have no time to love them”. The great commission of Christ to the church has few participants since men have lost control of even leading in their homes. It requires strength to remain in control of your home even among the empowered woman in the society. Truth is, love is stronger than death and wherever true love exists, it conquers even the strongest of women. Secondly, Proverbs 25:15 has more secrets, “through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone”.
Let me call out the STRONG MAN you exhibited when you chased that strong woman in your life. You patiently waited for all her responses; you were completely gentle in your actions and responses that you gave melted her heart. After winning her, we mostly think the two characters should take a backseat. But then we have numerous cases of divorces, separations and infidelities and a batch of many complaining husbands and boyfriends. But I submit to you; it requires strength to be patient and also gentle even when things are hot
[iii] Obedience to God’s word is what makes God keep his promises. There is no short cut in beholding God’s promises. This requires strength to ensure both the heart and soul walk faithfully before God. More so, as earlier noted, it requires strength for our lifestyle to portray godliness. To the dating men, the lost and weak seem to project that the vulgar and immoral man is the best choice. The strange woman on the loose continually agitates for godless men as the men to date. But the script being written and read after marriage is in contrast. The woman who sought a wild man to date seems to require a docile man to marry. It is paramount for men to safeguard the dating standards as long as they remain focused on being godly.
The weak men are now swayed to godless behaviors. Just in October 2015, a local daily printed a trending craze of men swapping their wives with other men for intimacy. This the weakest manifestation of how men have lost their strongest attribute of manhood, none of the male species creature hands over its female partner without a fight. But men are now conveniently doing it…

I look forward to witness A STRONG MAN who:
• Stands out to be counted
• Men who will realize that for us (MEN) not to provoke our children to anger, it requires us to “learn” them and reason with them. This demands us to have quality time with the children.
• Men who will wake up to the fact that God requires men to train and instruct our children in the Lord. Ephesians 6:4
[iv] The strong train and teach their children. Please note, training and instructing is best illustrated in a driving school. The instructor has to drive with you on the road, break your machine when and where necessary even when you think you are in control. My mind shudders at the thought of being given lectures on how to drive and then left to carry out practicals on our own. Though we will have few competent drivers, there would be too many fatalities. This is actually the case in our society. Men no longer train and instruct their children, and this is the reason majority of our youths are now hooked in suicidal behaviors. When women take responsibility to train and instruct, either by choice or by need due to man’s neglect, the world has now lost it.
It requires strength for a man to realize that his child, whether with the legitimate wife or otherwise, requires your training and instruction. John C Maxwell said, “the big admit their mistakes, the smart learn from their mistakes and are strong enough to correct them. We have too many illegitimate children yet we expect an orderly society. This is impossible. A counsellor friend working among the youths intimated to me “the main contributing factor that is causing youths to join gangs, drugs and sexual immorality lifestyles among other vices, is the search for identity. Majorities are in identity crisis of tracing their real parents and the world around them has refused to disclose the same. They feel hated and lost and believe the world doesn’t care. The second main reason is a feeling of hatred that emanates from lack of involving the child when the family lost a loved one and they thought the kids don’t care. At a later age, they feel hated and their only way to mourn is to seek for a group or person who seem to care.” As men, we must stop this menace by first and foremost not sowing anymore seeds if you won’t take charge of the offspring. Only the strong men will, the weak will craft for excuses and quote traditions but the strong will take charge. Men let us be strong and show ourselves as men. This is my conviction.

By Adrian Gitau