All Eyes On Me
All eyes on me… and you…
I know Dennis Rodman said “I never asked to be a role model”, but he’s in the spot light. And you – although probably not in the spot light – probably never asked to be a role model either. Guess what? You are a role model. You’re a role model whether you want to be or not. Whether you are at home (with siblings, parents, spouse, children or friends) or at work, or at Church or in public… all eyes are on you. Maybe you didn’t ask, but it’s the fact of the matter.
So why does this matter? So what if everyone is watching me? It matters because all of those eyes are connected to brains that are forming impressions about you. And you don’t only represent yourself, you represent all men, everywhere. If you are a father, you represent fatherhood. If you are a Catholic, you represent Catholicism. If you’re doing a great job of setting a great example, then great! Keep up the good work! If, however, you are setting a poor example, then you are making my job much more difficult. If women look at you and think that the behavior you live out is what a man is, shame on you. If children look at you and think that the behavior you live out is what a man is, how dare you. If non-believers look at you and think that the behavior you live out is what a Christian (man) is, may God have mercy on you.
You might not ask for it, but all eyes are on you. You can make this seemingly gigantic task have an incredible outcome if you live as a TrueMan should. How does a man live as a TrueMan? First and foremost, he is virtuous. This includes being faithful to God and being loving. After these two vital virtues, he respects others, honors his wife and children and is hard working. I could continue on for pages. Summed up, a TrueMan is a virtuous man.
Man up!
7 Days of Manly Superbowl Stuff – Day 3
T-Minus 5 days and counting until Superbowl 43…
Today, I’m thinking about the players in the NFL, and the typical picture that is painted for us of a player on the side lines. Typically, we see the star players getting a water-boy to squirt water in their mouth for them, someone who takes their helmet off and places it on their own personal “helmet heater” and yet another person who comes behind them and places a warm cape over their shoulders during cold games. Is this reality? Do you have an assistant that comes behind you and “takes care of you”? Most of us want to say no, but if you think about it, you might have to change your answer to yes.
Think about it this way… if you’re a married man, do you make your wife take care of everything around the house? (The cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping and the bills?) Does your wife do everything for the children? (Feed, change, dress, educate and play with them?) If this is making you think, I’m glad. My hope is that each of us realizes that, much like the players on the field, a marriage is a team. In football terms, how well would a team do if the offense also played defense AND special teams? They received no rest, no substitutes and no relief. They’d get run down and worn out. Are you doing this to your spouse? A True Man knows that cooking is a huge help (on a grill is preferred!), that cleaning any part of the house is a major relief and that a break from the kids is a god-send. A True Man also knows that this DOES NOT take away from his manhood, but enhances it. Be a teammate.
Man up!
