Men, we have been called to lead, and it all starts with our families. We are to pass down to our children and to our children’s children how we have seen and experienced God in our lives. We are to constantly remind ourselves and our families of God’s love for us and how He intimately intervenes in our lives. But sadly, too many men are heading the wrong way.
And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you … Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children.
Deuteronomy 4: 1, 9, ESV
Due to an unwillingness, laziness, or complete disregard for God’s commands, too many are brushing these instructions aside and hoping someone else will pick up the slack. Too many are hoping the problem will simply solve itself.
It’s a pattern straight from the Bible. As the Israelites progressed through the Old Testament, under poor leadership, they began to serve other gods and to lead their families into ungodly practices. Sadly, it’s the same for too many men today.
Take a look at some current statistics on this subject:
- When a mother comes to Christ, her family will join her at church only 17% of the time. However, when a father comes to Christ, his family will join him 93% of the time.
- The typical U.S congregation draws an adult crowd that’s 61% female and 39% male. (This gender gap shows up in all age categories.)
- This coming Sunday, almost 25% of all married, churchgoing women will worship without their husbands.
- 95% of men say they don’t have male friends; less than 1/3 of men in church say they have a friend.
- Fewer than 1% of churchgoing men participate in any sort of ongoing men’s ministry program.
- Over 70% of the boys who are being raised in church will abandon it during their teens and twenties. Many of these boys will never return.
Men, as the spiritual leaders of our home, it’s our responsibility to spend time with God on a regular basis. It’s our responsibility to regularly remind ourselves, our spouses, and our children why we follow Christ and what He has done for us. It is our responsibility to teach those around us, especially our families, what Christ has taught us. We are to show them by example how to serve Jesus with all our time, talents, and treasures.
And so, men, it’s time to stand up and show our families just how important our faith is to us. To tell them with words, but to also show them with actions. To show them with our time. Men, let us put effort into our role as servant-leaders, and submit ourselves to God’s sanctifying work within us as we lead. If we aren’t already, let us start praying with our families regularly. The good news is that God is patient with us, and He will lead us right to where we need to be. But men, if we continue to simply “go through the motions,” then it will be to our blame, when our kids turn into another statistic.
Sisters, the men in our church are in great need of prayer. Will you please pray for our men? Will you pray for our men to step up, into the roles to which God has called them?
Let us not fail. If we’ve been heading the wrong way, let us turn around before it’s too late.