Men

This might ruffle a few feathers but I'm gonna go ahead and say it anyways...men, the world over, are in need of reform.

Everywhere I go, whether it's walking down my old street in St. Louis, or the dirt road here in western Uganda, there are men sitting around while women work...everywhere I go there are women trying to raise families without husbands/fathers and the women and the children suffer as a result - suffering consequences that will last them their entire lives, and will affect how they think/act/interact for the rest of their lives...everywhere I go predominantly men struggle with alcoholism which in turn affects them and everyone around them for the rest of their lives...everywhere I go predominantly men are violent with those closest to them in their families...everywhere I go when women are given the opportunity to serve, men step back and fail to continue to lead in this way...

What's gotten into you? you might ask...Well, 1 Tim. 3 and Titus 1 to be precise are what has gotten into me today. We went to a church in a neighboring village today and one of the elders from the church here on the mission preached on 1 Tim 3:1-7 in preparation for a congregational meeting they were having to nominate elders. He was speaking about what qualifications God calls men in church leadership positions to have. I'm not going to get into the battle about whether women should be in church leadership positions too, I'm just talking about men for now. If you wanna duke it out with me on women in the church, then we can take that outside, but for now, I'm talking about men.

What does Paul say men in leadership should be like?

• above reproach
• the husband of but one wife
• sober-minded
• self-controlled
• respectable
• hospitable
• able to teach
• not a drunkard
• not violent but gentle
• not quarrelsome
• not a lover of money
• manage his household well
• be well thought of by outsiders

He adds in writing to Titus:

• not arrogant
• not quick tempered
• a lover of good
• upright, holy, and disciplined
  

It seems to me like a good list, I haven't thought yet much about what else I might put on a list or if this is pretty all inclusive, but these are things that I hold in high regard.

I even would go so far as to say this is a list that not just men in church leadership should aspire to/be held accountable to, but also that men in general should aspire to/be held accountable to...I would want anyone that marries anyone I love to be this kind of man, I would want any man that I love to be this kind of man. I want this for my brother, for my father, for my friends, and for anyone I would, potentially someday, just maybe one day, if God so chooses, fall in love with; I would hope he would be this kind of man.

Now, all you men reading this, I am in no way implying that women are perfect creatures and somehow innocent in all matters, and maybe you can tell me all about how you think women need to be reformed, I'd actually like to hear what you think about that, but today I was struck about how God has called men to behave as compared to how I see most men behaving. I also am in no way implying that all men are horrendous creatures that have no good in them, really, I'm not...okay, enough apologies...