Where are the Men?

Since I'm on a roll, here's another issue I wrote on this year. Maybe it'll get a little more exposure in this blog medium.

More and more situations and incidents convince me there’s a man problem in the world today. That may be one of the biggest reasons we see almost the same conditions Isaiah was talking about in Isaiah 3:4-5, 12 (KJV) 4 "And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them." 5 "And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. "
12 "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths." This begs the question of where are the men, men who would prevent this from taking place?

Mankind has a long history of ignoring what God has said and as a result, there have been many problematic times. Start by asking, where was Adam when Eve was tempted/beguiled by the serpent? God created Eve as a helpmeet, not one with the primary responsibility of taking on the world and all of the pressures involved in that responsibility. Of course, it may have been a failure on Adam’s part to accurately inform Eve of what God had said. Gen 2:16 "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: "
17 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Have you ever noticed how most men aren’t very good communicators? This wasn’t a suggestion or just a good idea, it was a command from God to THE man (the use of the definite article means a specific man, Adam). Eve wasn’t there, so it was Adam’s responsibility to accurately relay the command, so she would know the penalty for the transgression.

Adam may have been too busy with the “business” of dressing the Garden to be bothered with his primary duty of protecting his other half (Gen 2:24 "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.") I know, no one today thinks about the significance of being one flesh, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still valid. I’m not aware of anyone wearing clothing on their left half and being naked on their right half, especially when it’s either freezing cold or 100+ degrees outside. We, by nature, tend to protect our bodies from the ravishes of the weather, if for no other reason than the discomfort of it. A spouse is a detached half and it’s easy to be unaware of their need for protection too, especially when we’re busy with business. Yes, there are many part time widows, because business consumes the majority of the man’s time. It’s true that men are supposed to provide food and that comes at the expense of sweat and dealing with weeds, thorns and thistles, but too many are striving for much more than the needs of life. This verse tells us what the necessities of life are, 1Ti 6:7 "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." 8 "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. "

Today, there’s another situation that prevents proper protection for the “weaker vessel”. When women enter the work force outside the home, they are in much the same situation as Eve. They are left depending on their own strength, even with the wiles of the serpent all around. Most, if not all, extramarital affairs happen when the spouse is absent. It happens when men aren’t home tending the garden, but it also happens when women aren’t at home being tended to. When women are in the work force, they usually have someone in a managerial position over them. That’s the same place their husband is supposed to occupy, but the women are under the influence of the manager more than they are under the influence at home. That’s not being chauvinistic, it’s just good Biblical application. Gen 3:16 "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." “Rule over thee” is the principle that needs to be understood, especially knowing there isn’t a separate word in Hebrew or Greek for either “husband” or “wife”. In both cases, it’s either “man” or “woman” and the context determines the meaning. The one doing the “ruling” is the one her “desire” will be for. Through my ignorance, my wife worked outside the home at NASA for the first 8 months we were married, out of 42 years of being married. The warning to avoid that situation wasn’t anything I had ever heard in church and I was totally ignorant of the potential problems.

The ways of the world are not the ways of God. Isa 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD." 9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." It’s time to get our thoughts under control and quit letting the world dictate what’s right and what’s wrong.

Knowing and understanding the Bible will liberate our thoughts from the chains of the world and evil. That’s one reason the longest chapter in the Bible (Psalm 119) is so repetitious about hiding God’s Word in our hearts, so we won’t sin against Him. His word is what changes our stinkin’ thinkin’ and makes our thoughts proper. 2Co 10:5 "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; " One of the biggest obstacles we have today, in getting our thoughts right, is the television. In 1975, we gave away a 25" RCA color console and haven’t seen fit to watch much television since then. We still have a television leftover from when my mother-in-law was living with us, but we haven’t turned it on since she died 5 ½ years ago. I can get all the news and information I need from the internet and I don’t have to be bombarded with commercials while I do it.

The television is an instigator of many problems. My mother was a faithful watcher of “As the World Turns”. If Penny had a bad day, it affected her day and everyone else’s day as a result. It causes even women at home to take on the cares and problems the “soaps” thrive on. The language is appalling and it’s commonly heard by the preschool children at home. You really didn’t know why women and children cuss like sailors now? It’s just what they hear day after day and they think that’s the normal manner of communicating. There’s a conspiracy between parents to have a television, so they can indulge in their favorite corrupting influence. The women have their game shows and “soaps” while the men have the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders!

While I’m on the cheerleaders, where are the men when their wife’s and daughter’s everyday dress is like something the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders would wear? 1Ti 2:9 "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;" Where are the men when their wife and daughter look more like a man than many men do? Deut 22:5 "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God." Where are the men when their wife and daughter have shorter hair than they do? 1Cor 11:14 " Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" 15 "But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering. "

I’ve only scratched the surface of the problem, but maybe it will cause some thought and a reversal of the trends for Christians. We are supposed to be light and salt, not darkness and a promoter of decay. It’s way past time to put this verse into practice. 2Co 6:17 "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, "