Miscellaneous
Men, where are you? This is the fundamental question that needs to be asked in the church today. Just as God called out to Adam in the garden, "Adam, where are you?" as he was hiding in his cowardice, the vast majority of men in the church are currently hiding from God and from their responsibilities, just like their father Adam. Men have been given the responsibility to be the head of their home, the head of their marriage and the head of their family. Many men abuse this responsibility by going in one of two directions. They either become a coward like Adam, who make excuses and avoid their responsibilities like he did, or, they sin in another way by taking Scripture out of context and becoming chauvinists. These guys don't cower from responsibility necessarily, but they are often abusive, neglectful, over-bearing, cruel, mean, and emotionally absent individuals. Whether cowards or chauvinists, if you are one of these men, you are in sin. You are not leading your family well and you are not loving and honoring your wife properly as Peter describes in verse 7. And if this is the case, it is a critically serious situation. So, serious Peter says, that God will no longer listen to your prayers! In other words, if men don't "Man up" and live the lives God has called us to live, God will effectively stop listening to us. While we have a flawed and sinful example of manhood and masculinity in our father Adam, we also have a perfect and sinless example of what it means to be a man in our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. The Gospel message gives us the blueprint of what it means to be a man. Jesus didn't make excuses. Jesus didn't cower in the face of difficult times. Jesus didn't "lord over" others. Instead, He was a servant who took responsibility for things that were not His fault. He was out front as a bold leader who set an example for others to follow. It's time to stop playing games men. It's time to become the man that God intended you to be. Lead. Serve. Love. Honor. Look at Jesus. Look to Jesus. Look like Jesus.