Males are constantly judging each other on who is the better man (I think its just another guy trait, like hunting and scratching).  The truth is that there is only one true type of man… a man of God.  All other “men” are worldly defined.  Being humans that we are, we aren’t very good at judging the true person.  We only judge what we see.  Likewise, males are judged based on what the world sees, but not what God sees. 

The most common worldly definition of a man that I have heard is a male who has had sex.  Having sex does not make you more than what you already are.  In fact, it can make you less of a man.  A few other world-defined characteristics of a man are that of physical and mental strength, being a husband, a father, or sometimes it’s just the age of the male.  In most cases, these are good characteristics.  However, as I said before these things, do not make you more than you already are.  Being strong mentally means you could be a great leader, but that leadership could be used in a bad way (I can sum this all up in one name… Hitler.  He was a great leader but he had some really messed up ideas.).  Being a husband means that you are capable and willing to make a commitment, but he must understand that God is more important than his wife (ladies, it's true… God is more important than any human and you can’t expect your husband to love you more than God).  Being a father generally means that you have the ability to give unconditional love (for further knowledge of a good father… I suggest listening to the lyrics of Creed’s “With Arms Wide Open”), but there are men that are abusive fathers (all I have to say is what kind of man beats up little kids?). 

Finally, being an older male can also be a benefit, as the saying goes “with age comes wisdom”, but not always… you can be older, but you can also less mature than your average 3 year old.  These are good characteristics, but you must have more to be a man.  You can’t say you have one of these qualities and try to prove yourself a man based on that one quality.  It just doesn’t work that way.  As the oracle in the Matrix says, “You’re a good kid.  You have the gift… but you’re waiting for something.”  What the worldly definition is waiting for is God.  You can’t do anything without God, so why is it that males think they can achieve manhood without God.

Now, here is the best definition of a man of God that I can give you.  This is the man that we all should strive to be.  He should love God first and foremost, then his wife (if he has no wife then his church should be a substitute), he should always seek a greater reward (eternal life in Heaven), and last but not least he should accept responsibility (leadership, etc…). 

It’s amazing what you remember from two years ago at church camp (time to ramble).  The guys at camp spent the entire week studying how to be men of God, and the women learned how to be women of God.  It just now hit me how important that week was.  I would have never guessed that 2 years from then I would be using that knowledge to write a “w.o.w.”. 

Anyway (rambling complete), we talked about codes of conduct, just like the ones used back in the good old days when men were men and women were women.  Yes I am talking about the Middle Ages.  I have always admired medieval men, or knights in shining armor as many have called them, but what I never noticed is that they act very similar to the way a man of God should act.  The knights were always courageous, they treated their wives like queens, and the knights would even die fighting for the honor of their wives.  However, the knights served their lord, men of God serve the LORD.  Therefore, men of God are like the Knights of the 21st century (corny, I know).  They are to put God first and everything else second.  A man of God may not have to die for what he believes in, but he will most definitely sacrifice every worldly thing he cherishes (yes, even his family) to stand in the presence of God on that glorious day.  This is the best definition of a man of God that I can give. 

There is so much more to being a good man that I don’t think I could cover it all.  For further study I would strongly suggest looking at some of the men of the Bible, especially David.  He did have downfalls; he’s only human but he is a good example.  When reading about these men, keep in mind your own life and try to apply their situations to your own.  True, they may not all apply but some will.  Take notes if you need to… I have. 

Finally as a conclusion I would like to offer a challenge.  Guys… my challenge to each of you, as well as myself, is not to be a man of the world but be a man of God.  Girls… I challenge you to stand behind the men in your life and support them… you are much more important to us than you think. 

I just thought that you would like to know this.  It took me almost two weeks to compose this.  On the second day and probably the most thought-filled day (I didn’t write, I just thought), I went out for breakfast with my sister and while I was driving home I saw on the back of an old beat up pickup truck a bumper sticker that said “REAL MEN LOVE JESUS” (please take note of the title). (If that ain’t a spiritual 2 x 4, I don’t know what is).  I didn’t have a good title for this wow; that is until I saw that bumper sticker.  In other words, had I not seen that bumper sticker, you wouldn’t have had to suffer through this extremely long philosophical trip.  I just thought you all would find this somewhat amusing and also find that God does care and knows what we are looking for.