A Man's Checklist: Am I Doing Okay?

My heart has been all for helping men face the challenges of every day and remain close to God. Which is a hard call since I falter in that area a lot. Then I ask God why me? He never explains it, He just prods me to keep going.

Men are really only given 2 choices in life. Chase after God or chase after the world. (Matthew 6:24)

Now women are given the same 2 choices. But regardless of what the world might say about genders, the choices are seen differently by men and women. We are given so many choices that staying on the straight and narrow is a full time job. And while it is true that God is gracious and forgiving of the worst things imaginable, His grace and love are not excuses to live like a “heathen”.

Read the Bible
Perhaps the most important thing you will do to keep yourself in line with God and allow yourself to hear from Him will be to read His Book. Stop relying on your pastor or leadership to teach from the Word and start reading it for yourself. You are in a “personal” relationship with God and not one nurtured through a third party. That said, please keep being taught and going to church.

A “sub-key” to this is when and how often you read. “Well, I read the Bible once a week whether I like it or not.” Not only does that simply not count, but it is ridiculous to even use it as an answer. Reading the Bible is like feeding the spirit inside of us. If you are reading once a week, you are starving it and it will die. I guarantee it!

Praying/Talking to God
We, as Christians, have the most incredible privilege to talk to and hear from the Master of the Universe. Isn’t it funny how that if someone like Brad Pitt called us on a regular basis, that we’d feel pretty special? Think how cool that would be?

And yet we know the Guy who made Brad Pitt. In fact, we know the Guy would set the Sun on fire. Would you refuse a chance to call Brad on the phone and chat it up? Probably not. And yet the Greatest of all the Greats is a mere whisper away.

The Bible says we are the Bride of Christ. As men, that sounds odd, but it just means we are in close relationship with Him. For those of us who are married, if we have a conversation with our wives once a week (as most of us do with Jesus), our marriage is doomed. In the same way, our relationship with God can be heading the wrong way if we allow our conversation to happen so seldom.

The Word says to pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17) To have an ongoing exchange with God daily. DAILY!

Worship God
We worship God in many ways. We do it through our moment to moment by ways of our integrity, our demeanor, our language, our responses, our work ethic, our involvement in other’s lives, our charity, our love, and so on. Just to make that as simple as possible, our actions.

But there is a key type of worship that will bring God’s presence. The Bible says God is “enthroned” on the praises of His people. (Psalm 22:3) He comes in greater presence when we worship Him.

Even Jesus said to begin our prayer time by worshipping. “Our Father, who is in Heaven, HALLOWED (HOLY) IS YOUR NAME...” (Matthew 6:9) We take this moment to point out that God is so wonderful that even His name is holy!

But don’t make the mistake to limit your daily worship to this. Seek to worship in a way that draws Him to enthrone Himself in your presence as often as you can. Daily. That will change things. Change your heart. It will change everything about your relationship with God.

I call these three actions above the “Trifecta of Abundant Life”. But for men, I would also add the seeking of the Holy Spirit. Jesus called the Holy Spirit, the “Spirit of Truth”. Part of who we are as men of God are leaders of truth. For our wives and family, for our friends, for our co-workers and more. Honor and clarity are only found in understanding truth. And if those things are important to us, then we need to seek the Holy Spirit as He is the ultimate answer to a world that has not only spurned truth, but has chosen to make it up to fit their own wants and desires.

Our world is a mess. It is the responsibility of every man of God to walk in love and truth, bringing God’s light to bear on a world that He still loves so much.

If you need to make these elements a part of your routine, set you alarm or reminder. Read the Gospels, know what Jesus said. Pray constantly. Prayer works. Miracles happen. Worship the God who alone deserves to be worshiped. Seek the Holy Spirit and through Him your connection to God will flourish as you never thought possible.

The Shortlist