I suppose the first order of business in beginning this idea to have "Manly Man" trainings is to explain that a manly man is one that is trying to do what is right. A manly man is one who seeks to do what is right for his God and therefore wants to do right by the people in his life. Recognizing that becoming this manly man which by the way is synonymous with "Godly man" and maybe with "Family man", can be difficult and not always evident in our world today, I have decided to try some trainings.
Anyone is welcome to read my thoughts on being and becoming a "manly man" and make comments. As a father I hope that this will bring out the best not only in myself but also my son-in-laws as well. (I am ever hopeful you see, at the moment I have one son-in-law but ... you understand) So Mike and any other son-in-laws, suck in your gut and get ready for some strenuous training.
Lesson #1 Eliminate Selfishness
There are many things that we as man enjoy and want to use our time doing. The opposite is also true and there are lots of things that we prefer not to do. To some extent these are different to each of us but there are often commonalities of things that side-track us and try to divert us. There are some things that men are prone to that try to trap us. Some are so common as to practically be cliche.
When we think of the things we like to have or to be "up" on (in the know about the latest developments) we may think of electronic gadgets, cell phones, books, sports, or news. Actually we are talking about anything that takes "too much" of our resources away from the family and the others that we love. These things can easily divert us from our family and the gospel as well as other things that are of critical importance.
Then there is the category of drugs, pornography or even work (you've heard of a workaholic) that can trap us into sick patterns that not only divert but actually harm ourselves and the ones we love. We've got to stay away from the harmful things entirely and moderate the ones we must participate in. So obviously we must not partake of drugs and pornography but we must learn to balance our work and professional lives and even our sometimes demanding church callings so that they do not harm our family.
What we fill our lives with when we eliminate these selfish traits is we fill it will spending time and thought in doing service to and for those we love. We put forth our efforts to value and serve our wife, children and extended family and reap the flourishing of love.
D. Todd Christopherson gives us a short sermon on this principle while using his Dad as an example in the video below.
Remember that we need balance between good things so that they don't infringe or harm those we love and we need abstinence from harmful things so they don't destroy and annihilate our love and enjoyment of the family of our heart. Then we must use this room and time in our lives to insert the critical things that we cannot leave out and hope to reap the blessings of a Everlasting Celestial Marriage and Family.
Anyone is welcome to read my thoughts on being and becoming a "manly man" and make comments. As a father I hope that this will bring out the best not only in myself but also my son-in-laws as well. (I am ever hopeful you see, at the moment I have one son-in-law but ... you understand) So Mike and any other son-in-laws, suck in your gut and get ready for some strenuous training.
Lesson #1 Eliminate Selfishness
There are many things that we as man enjoy and want to use our time doing. The opposite is also true and there are lots of things that we prefer not to do. To some extent these are different to each of us but there are often commonalities of things that side-track us and try to divert us. There are some things that men are prone to that try to trap us. Some are so common as to practically be cliche.
When we think of the things we like to have or to be "up" on (in the know about the latest developments) we may think of electronic gadgets, cell phones, books, sports, or news. Actually we are talking about anything that takes "too much" of our resources away from the family and the others that we love. These things can easily divert us from our family and the gospel as well as other things that are of critical importance.
Then there is the category of drugs, pornography or even work (you've heard of a workaholic) that can trap us into sick patterns that not only divert but actually harm ourselves and the ones we love. We've got to stay away from the harmful things entirely and moderate the ones we must participate in. So obviously we must not partake of drugs and pornography but we must learn to balance our work and professional lives and even our sometimes demanding church callings so that they do not harm our family.
What we fill our lives with when we eliminate these selfish traits is we fill it will spending time and thought in doing service to and for those we love. We put forth our efforts to value and serve our wife, children and extended family and reap the flourishing of love.
D. Todd Christopherson gives us a short sermon on this principle while using his Dad as an example in the video below.
Remember that we need balance between good things so that they don't infringe or harm those we love and we need abstinence from harmful things so they don't destroy and annihilate our love and enjoyment of the family of our heart. Then we must use this room and time in our lives to insert the critical things that we cannot leave out and hope to reap the blessings of a Everlasting Celestial Marriage and Family.
No comments:
Post a Comment