Log In | Register
Over the past few months I have been teaching a study at church called “Measure of a Man”. How does the world measure a man? What do you consider the measure of a man? Over the past few months we have also see the death of several prominent icons. Steve Jobs one of the founders of Apple. He was a man of great vision and intelligence, considered one of the great pioneers of modern technology. Yet in recent things I have read He could be a tyrant at work, belittling those that disagreed with him. If you did not perform up to his standards he was known to reprimand you in front of others. There is no question to his genius and contributions to technology but was he a man we want to measure up to? DO we measure a man by his intelligence?
There have been several athletes that have passed recently, football players, baseball players and boxers. All of them accomplished in their chosen athletic endeavors, and yet are they men we should measure ourselves against? We cheer them on the field of play and yet there are many whose personal lives are in great turmoil. Their moral character has much to be desired. Tiger Woods and extra marital affairs, Michael Vick and dog fighting, Pete Rose and gambling and there are many other accounts of drugs, violence and greed. Granted there are also those that live good lives and yet what we admired them for is not that but their athletic abilities. Do we measure a man by his strength and agility?
Captains of business such as Warren Buffet, who have with wise decisions amassed great fortunes, they trade stocks and business like they are chess pieces. Wheeling and dealing to make the most of what they have. Presidents look to them for economic advise and we look to them to see which direction the economy is going. Admired for their ability to take money and make it grow. Unfortunately this at times is at the cost of others. Buying and selling businesses, which in turn cost people their jobs. They often give great sums of monies to charities and that is an admirable thing. However lingering in the backs of our minds is the questions do they do this out of charity, obligation or for the tax benefits. Do we measure a man by his wealth or how he uses it?
Welcome to Hollywood where dreams come true. We look to these men because they can act. We seek them out in the movies as action heroes, great lovers, great thinkers and when they can make us laugh. They are sought after for their looks and ability to play a role when asked to. As a man I often immerses myself into a movie, I get lost in the story. Yet away from the screen often these men are far from what they portray. They treat marriage as a disposable commodity when they become unhappy they seek the next best thing and throw the old away. They party until the sun comes up and spend millions of luxuries that many of us can only dream of. We seem to forgive this because they are popular and in some small way they have what we all want or think we want. They have the dream, the looks and the money. Do we measure a man by his looks and popularity?
How do you measure a man? What makes up a good man? What does it take to measure up in your own words share with us the standards that we should reach?
