RoMANtic: Reclaiming ManhoodНамуна

NOT TO BE SERVED, BUT TO SERVE

Like Jesus, you are called to live in a posture of servitude, sacrificing your own comfort for the protection and integrity of those in your care. While Jesus shows us a prime example of what this looks like, a famous Bible character named Abram (later known as Abraham) shows us the opposite. 

When visiting Egypt, Abram devised a plan with his wife, Sarai, to lie to the Egyptians, that she was his sister and not his wife, from fear that he would be killed for her beauty so that she could be married to the pharaoh (Genesis 12:11-13). At first glance, this might sound like a wise idea. 

What Abram failed to realize was that in his efforts to preserve himself, he actually put Sarai, his wife, in danger. Abram left her in the hands of the pharaoh, who intended to marry her and then have her reject God to conform to the customs of the Egyptian land. Fortunately, God stepped in and protected her, letting the pharaoh know that Sarai was actually Abram's wife and not his sister (Genesis 12:17-19). In his effort to save himself, Abram lessened the identity of Sarai, from being his wife to his sister, making her available to be purchased by the pharaoh. 

As men, when we behave in ways that are self-centered and selfish, we fail to confirm the valued identity of those around us and even knock on the door of dehumanizing them. For example, when we watch pornography, we gradually solidify in our hearts that women are disposable and exchangeable objects of pleasure. When we are silent and complacent in response to the suffering of women and children in our society, we communicate with our inaction, that they are not worthy of our attention and active response.. 

May God have mercy on us and make us aware of the call to rise up and to be His hands and feet of purity, protection, and provision here on this earth.