Here’s
a thing that happens among men, particularly among strong men, good
men. Men of honor. Consider with me.
(Caution: all kinds of PC
trigger warnings here: this is necessarily an over-simplification of some complex topics.)
Let's begin with this: Many good men are in committed relationships a woman. And good men will be careful about the woman in their life.
Another bit of this: It
can be fairly challenging to get to know strong men. They often have
a strong sense of who they are, where they’re going, why they’re
going there, and they don’t have time or interest for new
relationships. They’re not dodging relationship, they’re just
busy changing the world.
It can also be difficult to get close to good men; often they will have a lot of people around them already.
Sure, these good men, strong men have needs from time to time, but they also have something in place to take care of those needs. And if they didn’t, there’s always someone right there, already in their circle, ready to provide it for them.
And it happens that the lady sometimes has needs as well. If he’s there, the gentleman will probably take care of that need.
(In our hyper-sensitive culture, it would be easy to imagine some sexist or controlling relationship going on here. This is not that. Rein in the hyper-sensitivity and see if you can follow the point of the story.)
But sometimes, she has needs that she doesn’t have the immediate answer for, and her man is not right there to meet the need for her.
And that’s where this gets interesting. If I happen to be in the right place at the right time, and have the right resources with me, I can meet her need.
Of course, if my whole focus is to use her to reach him, that’s ugly, that manipulation is generally apparent, and it usually makes a mess.
But if I see her for who she is, and if I step up and help her with her need, that generates a different reaction. Gratitude is a more common response.
The thought showed up in my mind this way: “A good way to impress a man is to take care of his lady.”
And it lives in my mind that way, because that was the way Jesus whispered into the midst of my thoughts a decade or two ago.
And then he whispered, even quieter, “Thank you for taking care of my lady.”
And it’s changed my perspective about serving the Church ever since. I suddenly realized that serving the Church is taking care of my King’s Lady, his beloved Bride.
This changes my worldview. It changes how I see pastors, for example. More specifically, it changes how I see pastoring.
It changes how I see prophetic ministry, teaching ministry, youth pastoring, children’s ministry. It changes how I see church janitors, church technical teams, administration teams. I’ve done many of those jobs myself.
They’re serving the same Lady that I’ve been serving. It is not too much of a stretch to say that their job (whether volunteer or paid) is to take good care of Jesus’ girlfriend.
Let's begin with this: Many good men are in committed relationships a woman. And good men will be careful about the woman in their life.
It can also be difficult to get close to good men; often they will have a lot of people around them already.
Sure, these good men, strong men have needs from time to time, but they also have something in place to take care of those needs. And if they didn’t, there’s always someone right there, already in their circle, ready to provide it for them.
And it happens that the lady sometimes has needs as well. If he’s there, the gentleman will probably take care of that need.
(In our hyper-sensitive culture, it would be easy to imagine some sexist or controlling relationship going on here. This is not that. Rein in the hyper-sensitivity and see if you can follow the point of the story.)
But sometimes, she has needs that she doesn’t have the immediate answer for, and her man is not right there to meet the need for her.
And that’s where this gets interesting. If I happen to be in the right place at the right time, and have the right resources with me, I can meet her need.
Of course, if my whole focus is to use her to reach him, that’s ugly, that manipulation is generally apparent, and it usually makes a mess.
But if I see her for who she is, and if I step up and help her with her need, that generates a different reaction. Gratitude is a more common response.
The thought showed up in my mind this way: “A good way to impress a man is to take care of his lady.”
And it lives in my mind that way, because that was the way Jesus whispered into the midst of my thoughts a decade or two ago.
And then he whispered, even quieter, “Thank you for taking care of my lady.”
And it’s changed my perspective about serving the Church ever since. I suddenly realized that serving the Church is taking care of my King’s Lady, his beloved Bride.
This changes my worldview. It changes how I see pastors, for example. More specifically, it changes how I see pastoring.
It changes how I see prophetic ministry, teaching ministry, youth pastoring, children’s ministry. It changes how I see church janitors, church technical teams, administration teams. I’ve done many of those jobs myself.
They’re serving the same Lady that I’ve been serving. It is not too much of a stretch to say that their job (whether volunteer or paid) is to take good care of Jesus’ girlfriend.
If I’ve done them FOR a paycheck, that’s different than if I’ve done them to serve my King’s Beloved, regardless of whether or not I get a paycheck for it.
“A good way to impress a man is to take very good care of his lady.”
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