Honour
We’ve chatted a lot about honour in True recently, in Life Groups and Tris did an excellent preach on it as well, looking at the three ‘directions’ that honour can take. I think possibly the direction that we can struggle most is honouring others. The Bible says in Romans 12:10 “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honour”. I think that this is particularly relevant because we are brothers in Christ. “Outdo one another in showing honour” makes me feel so challenged to continually honour everyone, and I hope it challenges you too. Guys like to have a lot of banter, and a lot of such is mostly, good hearted fun. (Like when we all tease Jez when he loses!). This kind of fun I think also helps build good relationships – definitely a good thing. What’s important to remember though, is to keep an eye on yourself. Make sure that the teasing is not over-frequented and that it doesn’t get out of hand. It can be easy to let this banter get out of hand, and become hurtful to the recipient.
Pride and humility
As men, we are proud. We don’t need directions from anyone, we can fix or construct anything with our bare hands, and we certainly don’t need instructions when we get a new gadget! It’s easy to think that we can go alone and that we don’t need anyone’s help, especially when it comes to more difficult life issues like our walk with God. It can be difficult to admit that actually, we are struggling in our walk with Him, and that we need some encouragement. Accepting that we are struggling with something is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign that we know we are out of our depth and that we need help from others and from God. If we cry out to Him, he will not let us down. Just remember that He will do that in His own timing, I found this Psalm, which I love. Psalm 69:13 “But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me in your saving faithfulness.”
In about AD56 when Paul wrote 2 Corinthians his opponents claimed that his suffering (which can be read about in chapter 11:24-29) proved he was not an apostle. Paul simply stated that his suffering highlights his dependence on Christ. In verse 30 Paul says “If I must boast, I will boast in the things of my weakness.” Again, I think that this is a brilliant challenge to us to not hide away our weaknesses, but to “boast” in them.
We should also be humble about our achievements. It is crucial for our humility that every gift we have, is all from God, and not through our own doing. Proverbs 11:2 says “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom”. Who doesn’t want to be wise!? Wisdom is one of the greatest gifts that God can give, as we see with the story of King Solomon, who then goes on to write much of the book of Proverbs. I saw this quote on Facebook a while back, from a member of the youth: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking about yourself less. It's about being Jesus focused rather than self-focused” The bit about being Jesus focussed is so key – it’s so easy to forget everything good comes from the Lord, not from ourselves.
Boldness
It’s not always something I’ve found easy. At the beginning of secondary school, I found it difficult to even mention that I was a Christian, let alone to be bold and step out in faith! In Acts 4, when Peter and John stand before the Council in Jerusalem, after healing the lame beggar in Acts 3. Peter speaks out, fuelled by the Holy Spirit, tells them that the only true and lasting salvation comes from God, through Jesus’ death on the cross. Acts 13 says “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus” So Peter managed to speak out in a very difficult situation, and the people around realised that he had been with Jesus. So, if we step out in faith to our friends and others, then that in itself is going to testify to them the amazing power and faithfulness of God. Be encouraged to follow in Peter’s footsteps! (A quick tip for you, when talking to others about God: try to listen more than speak. Draw out their thoughts rather than fill their minds. Too much of a good thing will make them sick. If you do this, you won’t actually have to say much at all!)
School/College work
Something I feel quite strongly about! I’ve always been aware of just how important school or college work is. My parents have never been forceful about my grades, but they’ve always made sure that I remember that they are important. Here’s how I see school and college work as important, in a Christian context:
One day, I would love to have a wife and children. Now, as the ‘man of the house’, I will be responsible to God for my family. It will be my job to make sure that they are fed well, have clean clothes and a house that is safe to live in etc etc. Now, while God does provide, on a practical note I see it that if I work hard at college, get into Uni and get a good job, then I will have enough money to provide these things for my family. Without a reasonable income, it may be a struggle to provide these things. I must stress that this is my take on this topic, and I shall not say anymore to allow you to reflect on what I have said.
These are things that I’ve personally struggled with at times of being a young man of God. I hope that what I say here helps you in some way. Do remember that any problems, talk to your Life Group leader or a Youth Leader or even better – God!
