Walk like a man

and listen to others.

• A child will say whatever will make him look good, but a man talks to benefit others.

• A child is self-centered, but a man puts the needs of others ahead of his own desires.

• A child slanders others, but a man will defend others while adhering to the truth.

• A child ignores or denies God, but a man lives by Godly principles.

• A child lives to please himself, but a man lives to honor God.

In all of that, I am not inferring sinless perfection; instead, I am inferring a definite desire to live a life that is above reproach, is mature, and which honors himself, others, and God. A person in San Diego recently said, “I can’t live that way because of my past. I have lived a bad life.”

I told him, “You must put aside your self-centeredness, and stop using your past as an excuse. Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. And that means with the help of the Holy Spirit, you must change the way you think. God will help you change but you must purposely cooperate with God.”

If we live a life of honor to please God, we will bless those around us and we will receive that “ultimate triumph” Teddy Roosevelt mentioned above.

The president concluded with: “If we shrink from the hard contests where men must win at hazard of their lives and at the risk of all they hold dear, then the bolder and stronger peoples will pass us by, and will win for themselves the domination of the world. Let us therefore boldly face the life of strife, resolute to do our duty well and manfully; resolute to uphold righteousness by deed and by word; resolute to be both honest and brave, to serve high ideals, yet to use practical methods. Above all, let us shrink from no strife, moral or physical, within or without the nation, provided we are certain that the strife is justified, for it is only through strife, through hard and dangerous endeavor, that we shall ultimately win the goal of true national greatness.”

Friends, let’s walk like men, and serve the Lord our God.