Being a man means many different things to many different people. Again, we need to agree on a simple definition. One simple definition is found in 2 Timothy 2:15 that states, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” I think this means a “Man” is responsible for taking care of himself, his family, is job duties, and his position in society in such a way as to please God. This sounds so simple doesn’t it.
How many of us know someone or are ourselves guilty now or in the past of abusing our bodies with alcohol, drugs, worries, lack of sleep, and stress brought on by engaging in activities that hindsight tells us was not necessary and dangerous. How many times have we allowed our actions and thoughts to place our families on the back burner, so we could chase some promotion at work, try to accomplish some ego boosting dream, or just did not want to do what we knew was right for the family because it cost too much or took too much time to complete. How many of us have called in sick to work to go fishing or golfing, taken credit for someone’s ideas or hard work, or just felt like the company owed us some extras. How many times have we seen someone in need and turned our head, had an opportunity to fix a problem involving our friends and neighbors and bypassed to take care of our own petty concerns, decided to not take part in a community or work program to solve an issue because it did not directly involve you or took time away from something you wanted to do. It is easy to talk about being a “Man”, but it is even more easy to not be a “Man.” Not being responsible and looking the other way is easy. All of us can claim to be a “male” of the species but very few of us can truly claim to be a “Man.”

It is that time of year that everyone loves to hate. Everyone is talking about having to pay their taxes. Many people dread this time of year knowing that they will have to find and turn loose of some money and send it off to the government. Many others are excited about getting back their refund where they have overpaid and given the government an interest free loan. And then there is a special group that wins the lottery ever year by applying for Earned Income Credit (EITC or EIC). This credit is refundable – meaning you may get more money in your refund than you had withheld from your pay. In fact, you may get money back even if you didn’t have any income tax withheld from your pay. I personally do not want to pay any more than I have to, I do not like lending the government money interest free, and I do not like folks getting a refund when they haven’t contributed (paid) any money. A refund by definition means you over paid so the Earned Income Credit is more of a gift than a refund. But all this is beside the point. No one likes to give their money to the government. But let us consider what we get for the money. We enjoy driving on paved roads paid for by our tax dollars. We enjoy having lights and heat produced by government agencies like TVA paid for by our tax dollars. We have access to public education paid for by our tax dollars. The list of services and amenities paid for by our tax dollars is a very long list. Make no mistake there is an incredible amount of waste and mismanagement of our tax dollars and we seem to allow this without much concern or complain. Rather than complaining about having to pay taxes Americans should be complaining loudly about the waste.
Romans 13:7-8 states, “For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” We all take advantage of all the services and amenities our Country and State offers so we should all pay our fair share. It is difficult to part with our hard-earned money but if we are honest and look at the big picture, we are getting a pretty good deal. If we look around the world at socialist countries paying 70% of their income like Venezuela where the government has all but ceased to exist. Venezuela has no running water, electricity, or government services. Recently the Utopian country of Finland has gone broke trying give everyone free health care. Utopian socialist government all start giving everyone everything for free and then the taxes go up, people stop working and it all caves in on itself. Free is never free. Again, we all hate to pay taxes but we must remember the old saying that states, “you get what you pay for” and start appreciating our great Country. Find you a good, experienced, and honest tax consultant/preparer and file your taxes timely and send a “Thank You” note with the return.

Have you ever been reading a book, watching, TV, or be involved in some activity when your spouse, friend, associate, comes to you and ask you to do something else because you don’t look happy doing what you are doing? They want to see you happy, engaged in conversation with them and being more of an extrovert. You are perfectly content, satisfied, and happy with whatever activity you are participating in. But then the next thing you know is you are questioning yourself, wondering if you are really happy or if your spouse, friend, associate are not happy. Either way this situation needs to be investigated and some solution be found.
What is happy anyway? Happy, by definition, means having a feeling of pleasure or contentment. What Does It Mean to Be Happy? Art Markman Ph.D. (May 10, 2013) in an article by the same name explains the meaning stating, “There are two interesting aspects to these data analyses. First, there has been a shift in the US from a focus on happiness as a state that is caused from the outside through luck and prosperity to an internal emotional state that is under the control of the person. Second, the view that happiness involves strong elements of external forces like luck is still common around the world, even if it is not common in the United States.” Now you have to ask yourself if you are responsible for others and how do you control your own emotions. Sarah Lyons (Apr 2, 2018) article in You Can’t Expect Your Partner to Make You Happy writes, “Happiness is something that should come from inside yourself. It’s up to you to have it whether it’s through your daily work, interactions with family/friends, or hobbies you’ve chosen to do. You have to take responsibility for how you live your life. You have to own the fact that you are in full control of how you choose to spend your time and who you spend it with. You can’t depend on others to fulfill your needs, because ultimately, only you can know what those are.” Chinae Alexander (Jul 16, 2013) writes in Why Can’t We Just Be Happy For Each Other? “We Run Everything Through The “Self-Filter”: It is so difficult to see and experience the joy that others have experienced because we are too distracted with how it makes us feel. Without fail, we sift through the other person’s joy and figure out the exact parts we can extract to make ourselves feel worse about our own situation.” Each person has their own “Self-Filter” that determines their jealousy, envy, appreciation, and other emotions that are being experienced.
God wants everyone to be happy and live a life of contentment. Proverbs 17:22
“A joyful heart is good medicine..” Humans usually are the root of all our ills. Many times, a person can determine their happiness simply by changing their attitude and their circumstances. Sometimes a person has to make decisions that will help their chances to find happiness. A toxic person, difficult relationships, being in the wrong profession, can all make life difficult and make the pursuit of happiness difficult. Proverbs 15:13 states, “A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.” Hopefully you, your spouse, friend and associate can realize that happiness is not that difficult to find if approached with the right attitude and beliefs. We need to remember that Philippians 4:13 tells us we can “do all things through him who strengthens me.”

The following article appeared in the Centurion Law Enforcement Ministry Blog written by Police Officer and Chaplain Michael “MC” Williams. I am always in awe of Mr. Williams writing and I have asked and received permission to use his article.

Judges 17:6, 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is the ways of death.”

Those of us who serve in law enforcement (and many other professions) live in a world that is all about “doing the right thing.” But just what is the “right thing” and by whose/what standard? Especially in a time in our nation and the world when Isaiah 5:20 (“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil…”) is being played out before us, understanding and “doing the right thing” has never been more important. That said, this is not a new concept. As we see in our signature verses above, God reveals to us that even His chosen people repeatedly turned against His way (did their “own thing”) — with dire but appropriate consequences. Accordingly, let’s dig into what God has for us on this incredibly vital subject.

In the Book of Judges, we find the nation of Israel in a very dark place. Despite the fact that they had God Himself as their King, they rejected His lordship, leadership, and direction. Does that not sound familiar? Today as then, our nation has turned its back on God and His way (THE Way — John 14:6). Just as Israel did 2600 years ago, American culture today says that “the right thing” can’t be God’s way and that we must embrace those who decide for themselves what is “right in their own eyes,” including but by no means limited to sex outside of biblical marriage (one man, one woman), alternative lifestyles, addictions run amok, rejection of biblical manhood and womanhood, and lawlessness in general.

Folks, let me be crystal clear in relaying God’s message: The book of Judges is absolutely and overwhelmingly relevant for us today (personally, professionally and nationally). To understand its application for us today, we need to get a little insight into the relationship between God and the nation Israel at that time. God chose His people to be a light in a dark world. To shine so that as they lived and obeyed the Lord they would show just who God was to a world that was mired in idolatry and spiritual darkness! The Israelites were to be the way the whole world would come know God and worship Him! God promised to bless them so greatly, IF THEY OBEYED HIM, that all the world would wonder who the great and benevolent God of the Jews was.

But God also promised the people of Israel that if they turned away from Him (disobedience) and set a bad example for who He was to the world, He would punish them (read Deuteronomy 30). Not because God was mean or spiteful, but because of His righteous judgment. God reveals to us in His Word that every evil act (evil being His standard) has a consequence. He punished the Israelites as a way of waking them up so they would turn from their evil ways and turn back to Him. And in turning back to Him the Israelites would again show the world who the real God is.

Sadly, then as today, God’s people turned away from Him and “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (repeated seven times over 300 years in the book of Judges). As a consequence, God punished them for their disobedience. Finally, when things finally got bad enough, they cried out to the Lord for mercy and forgiveness. Sound like many of us today? And why did the nation of Israel sink into this downward spiral of disobedience and judgment? It was a matter of their eyes! The Hebrew language is very literal. It uses lots of concrete words to define abstract ideas. The word “eye” in the context of Judges means “sight or perspective or arrogance”. During the time of Judges, the people did what they THOUGHT was right… not what WAS right.

Folks, I believe that the United States has been the most blessed nation on earth — a nation that has been truly blessed by God with His intent that we are a light to the world for His glory. Sadly, we have fallen far short of that and, frankly, that He has so far refrained from imparting His just wrath on us is nothing short of a miracle! “But wait! There’s more!” In his commentary, the late Chuck Smith (founder of the Calvary Chapel movement), wrote the following concerning these passages in Judges (over 20 years ago, mind you): “Look at the consequences in our society. We cannot build prisons fast enough to accommodate all those who are being sentenced for their criminal activity. More children are being raised in a home with step-parents than at any time in history. Thousands of children feel unwanted, unloved, and in the way, more than ever before. It is becoming a rare thing for children to be raised in a home with both of their parents. One in every five teenagers is infected with a sexually transmitted disease. More babies are being born to unwed mothers than at any time ever. Abortions are killing off the next generation. You have to wonder just how long God will allow these things to continue before He steps in and brings His judgment upon America. ‘America, America, God shed His grace on thee,’ but He is about to pour His wrath on thee! God declared, ‘Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.’ (Proverbs 14:34)”

Amen! Chuck went on to say,
“Are you doing what is right in your own eyes, or are you seeking to do what is right in God’s eyes? The Bible tells us that it is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Yes, there is life after death, the Bible speaks much about it. It tells us that one day every man, small and great will stand before God to be judged. What will be the standards for judgment on that day? They will be the standards that God has established, which means that many of you will be in big trouble. The nation of Israel was in a state of moral free fall. There was a lot of confusion for everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes. They had rejected God as their king. Likewise, I see America today in that same moral free fall. We also have rejected God from reigning over us, and people are doing what is right in their own sight.”

As Solomon (sadly, a man who also often did things his own way instead of God’s) rightly said in Proverbs 14:12, “there is a path that seems right unto men, but the end of the path is death.” Are you sure you are on the right path today? Are you doing things the right (God’s) way? Are you prepared to stand before God and give an account to Him for how you have spent your life?

Here is where the gospel of Jesus Christ comes in, He says, “Turn your life over to Me, and I will make those changes for you. I will set you free from the power of sin and give you the ability to walk the path of life. Follow Me, for ‘I am the way, the truth and the life and no man can come to the Father but by Me.'” (John 14:6) Brethren, the cure for what ails us individually, as a profession and as a nation (world) is found through a life-saving/life-changing front sight focus on Christ alone. Hebrews 12:2 puts it wonderfully: “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Fixing (or “fixin” if you’re from the south — lol), having that front sight focus on Christ Jesus, is THE way to FIX our eye problem and do the right thing God’s way!

And how do we do this? By bowing our knees to the authority and kingship of Jesus in our lives. By living for Him and not for ourselves! By accepting His free gift of salvation and becoming a disciple of His and His alone! By repenting of our sin both individually and collectively and boldly living “all in” for Him under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Clearly, the ability to do the right thing is ultimately found in Christ alone as revealed in His Word, the Bible. Do you know Him? Are you sure? If so, are you following Him wholeheartedly? If not, keep reading!

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