I was listening to a sermon before church last Sunday. The sermon was titled “What Does A Real Man Look Like?” by one of my favorite rappers – Lacrae.
I enjoyed it and even made notes. To me the sermon boiled down to four things men do.
- Reject Passivity
- Accept Responsibility
- Lead Courageously
- Invest Eternally
I believe I am a pretty productive person but being passive is so what I would prefer some days. There are times when I have gone over 48 hours without direct human interaction. This usually means I skip church because if I don’t then the longest I can go is about 36 hours. Yes, I have it timed – sad I know. I am usually productive during this time. I catch up on work, reading, and praying (can you catch up on praying?).
But I am not engaging people with the gospel. I am not in their houses building my relationship with them. Now for a bit of justification and some truth. Some of those weekends I am exhausted and find that the rest was needed and other weekends I know I have the energy reserves to serve but just don’t. I’d much rather sit at my house and stare at the wall. And yes, I know even staring at a wall my mind is contemplating things but that is really not the point.
So I asked someone last weekend how I could use the anguish I feel for people when it exists to propel me forward when it does not. There was no answer for this. I have considered this for myself since then. I realized that as I look down at my prayer list and see the names of people who have not repented and believed in Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior, the anguish builds. As I look at my prayer list and see others struggling with their faith or going through trials which may even threaten their faith, the anguish builds.
It seems that the pain I feel for people is needed to help motivate me and keep me from being passive which allows me to accept my responsibility and hopefully lead courageously while investing eternally. Yes, this pain could also be called love.