DESPERATION
In a desperate attempt to find inner satisfaction and peace, I
studied a number of religions and belief systems. At the time (like many men) I
did not have any real friends or other men I looked up to for advice, so I
decided to look at the lives of men throughout history whom I admired to see
what they had that made their lives significant. Interestingly, the only common
denominator I discovered between all these great and admirable men was the fact
that they were all Christians—men of great faith.
That epiphany was a mighty blow to the worldview I had been
raised with. I personally had always been a bit contemptuous of Christianity. At
the very least it just seemed inconsequential or insignificant in the bigger
picture of things. I wasn’t necessarily hostile toward it; I just thought it
was a misguided philosophy designed and developed by perhaps earnest but
intellectually weak or even ignorant men thousands of years ago to keep
uneducated and ambitionless people content with their lot in life. Sort of
along the lines of Karl Marx’s quote, “Religion is the opium of the people.”
INVESTIGATION
However, upon making this discovery, I began to investigate the
history and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. I set out upon a yearlong
study of anthropologic, geologic, and historical components of Scripture in
order to disprove the validity of the Gospels. After that year I came to the
conclusion that not only could I not
disprove the truth of the Gospels, but that they were in fact true. After
accepting Christ as my Savior, I felt a huge sense of peace, satisfaction,
contentment, and most of all forgiveness that cannot be described or proven by
any scientific method I’m aware of. I just knew in my soul that this was truth in its purest form. I felt
fulfilled and whole. This then propelled me into the work I do today, which has
allowed me to lead a much more fulfilling life than I ever thought possible.
The study of great men throughout history was what initially led
me to be interested in pursuing salvation. Was it coincidence that every
historically significant man I happened to study was a Christian? Probably not.
But as I have investigated and researched further, it appears to be extremely
difficult to find any men throughout
history who have made a positive and significant difference in the world who
were not Christians or at least men of great faith. (For example, someone such
as Mahatma Gandhi could probably be considered a man who made a significant,
positive difference in the world and, though not a Christian, had a deep
religious and moral faith.)
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“I am very doubtful whether
history shows us one example of a man who, having stepped outside traditional
morality and attained power, has used that power benevolently.”
--C.S. Lewis
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With that in mind I use great men throughout history and the
character traits they were most famous for to illustrate the foundations we
need to instill in young men in order to develop healthy and truly life-giving
masculinity. Were these men perfect? No. They were ordinary human beings like
you and me—flawed, imperfect, and prone to making mistakes. But they did not
allow those imperfections to keep them from changing the world for the better.
Too many men in our culture today either use the power of their
masculinity to do harm or they neglect and waste it. If we are to teach boys
and young men to wisely use the power God has endowed them with by virtue of
their gender, we must be intentional. If we are to teach them to use that power
to bless the lives of others, we must proactively develop and implement a plan,
not just hope and pray for a positive outcome.
GREAT
MEN
In the early nineteenth century, an idea called the Great Man
Theory was developed to describe how “great men”—through their personal
attributes, such as charisma, intelligence, wisdom, or political skill—used
their power to significantly influence history.
For purposes of my newest book, I chose a number of men of faith
whose lives were significant and who impacted the lives of many others. All of
these men led exemplary lives on some level—not perfect, but significant. Each
chapter contains a short bio on the man and how he exhibited the character
trait he was known for, a section on why that specific trait is important to
teach your son, and finally some practical ways to intentionally instill that
character trait into your son’s life. These character traits are not in any
particular order of importance, although I did try to put similar traits
together in the chapter order.
These traits are not the only traits our boys need to learn, but
they are a good starting point to begin to intentionally develop a plan to
proactively teach our sons to become leaders and good men.
OUR
FUTURE
We need to have the courage to raise men of great faith and
character. Our culture is at a crossroads—we are seeing the effects of poor
male leadership over the past several decades. We need great men to once again
lead and shape our culture through strong character and divine inspiration. I
don’t think it’s any coincidence that only a few of the men that I referred to in
this book have been alive in the last forty years or so. We create great men by
intentionally growing them from boys. As you go through this book, keep your
eye on the ultimate goal—to create men who will change history. Without those
great men. . . may God help us all.
QUESTION
- Can you think of any men throughout history who accomplished great things who
were not men of faith?
Excerpted
from Rick’s newest book, A Man in the Making:
Strategies to Help Your Son Succeed in Life. Find out more at www.betterdads.net
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