Men Traps

Whether you are single or married, there are many traps we men can fall into. I want to touch on three traps that you’ll probably face.

 

Single Trap: But as much as God loves marriage, he didn’t design it to bear the burden of our eternal purpose and happiness.  

 

I’m impatient because I’m still single, and I’ve waited a long, long time to be married.

Amazon, Netflix, and smartphones have depreciated patience. It’s not really true, but instant gratification has gratified us enough to make us forget how priceless and beautiful patience really is. Do you appreciate patience in yourself or others? You won’t find it applauded much online and certainly not in most television today, so we’ll have to look in other (more reliable) places.

 

God promises through Paul, “To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life” (Romans 2:7). There are some things we can only have through patience. Glory. Honor. Immortality. God. No technology will ever speed up the process. And the muscles we need to wait well for God are built in our waiting for lesser things, like weddings. All of our waiting is worth it, if through it we get more and more of the one for whom our souls are all ultimately waiting.

 

Married no kids:
Married Trap: I can’t lead her

 

How do you lead when your wife won’t follow. God gave Eve to Adam as a helper, make for him Hand made your wife for you. “Am I want you wanted” way in the heart.  Ephesians 5: 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. God is teaching us through scripture that that question is in her heart and by my attitudes and actions and words will answer that question. It is a Value question. You spend the rest of your life communicating that to her, YOU please me! YOU meet my needs! Speaking value into her. My wife really needs me to love and cherish her.

 

Dad Trap: My kids will be fine whatever I do.

(Gen 18:17-19 ESV) The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”

 

Man Trap: Go Back Get Back
What you’ve gone through this year. Been difficult: Savings depleted physical, marriage, barely holding on to your house leave memories, relationship with a child and now gone, I hate you, can’t stand you…

 

Maybe if I go back to church get back with God, things will get better. God doesn’t promise: “stay close to me and I’ll get you what you lost back.” That’s a country album played backwards.

 

However, He will give you something greater than that. He will give you a relationship with him. You will find a love greater than you’ve ever known. When you fell in love, that person didn’t change or fix your circumstances, but that love made you experience life in a way that nothing mattered because I was in love with Jill. I was like I don’t care. You multiply that by a trillion and you are getting closer. Things may not get fixed but it won’t matter. Paul’s life was going well until he followed Jesus.

Philippians 1 For to me mto live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 nI am hard pressed between the two. My desire is oto depart and pbe with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 qConvinced of this, rI know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your sprogress and tjoy in the faith, 26 so that in me uyou may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.