Knowledge or Wisdom begins with fearing God, that is a pretty strong statement and men being men may take some offense to that Proverb. For one it goes against what we as men have heard our whole lives, to not fear anyone or anything. The simple truth is until us as men begin to truly fear God and make him the center of our lives with our decision making, with our actions, thoughts and words we will remain enslaved by the lust in our lives.
I was raised in a Catholic home, we were regular attendee’s until I was about 15 or 16 yrs old or at least that is when I stopped going. I can remember seeing no point in church; the priest never discussed anything that actually helped me with any of the problems that I was dealing with. Sure there were some sermons about God's wrath and the types of sin, but nothing in detail that actually addressed any way to overcome the sin in my life. It seemed like church was one big front for everyone to say they where saved when in actuality lots of people where hurting. Now I am not downing the Catholic Church or any type of domination. I am just simply saying that as far as how to be a Godly man, I never heard that discussed. This is no fault to the church; most churches won't touch the issues of men. Take a look around the next time you are in church and see the ratio of men to women. If your church is like most women out number men; preachers have a hard time teaching on men's battles because most struggle just like the rest of us and men being men have a hard time discussing it with each other simply because we don't want to be perceived as weak or vulnerable. We are all struggling to some degree and God makes it clear that it cannot continue if you want a relationship with God. "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God." - John 3:9
God gives us all the option to simply walk away from the sin, especially sexual sin. I got to a point in my life where I was simply managing my sexual sin. I did this with things like shock radio stations such as Howard Stern who almost always had some type of lewd headline that would satisfy my selfish desires. With porn being readily assessable at the click of a mouse it wasn't hard to take 10 or 15 minutes a week to get my fix. You understand sexual sin can be just like a habit or addiction. It is something that makes us feel good for a few moments something that gives us that short adrenaline high or something that gives us a relief from stress. In the world we live in today we can get our fix anywhere. Think about it, most convenient stores in larger cities have it all in one, they offer nicotine, alcohol, pornography and sometimes there is access to drugs.
Sin in men's lives has some how been glorified in every venue in the world. If you just watch basic sitcom TV there is tons of sexual references and immoral activity that occurs. Recently me and my wife were watching a movie on ABC Family, this is supposed to be the station that is suitable for family audiences; however, there was a preview for a new sitcom called Roommates. This sitcom consisted of 5 individuals and their relationships that included sexual references not to mention sexual scenes. These may not have been what the movie critics would rate 'R' but the question is, what would God rate it? We as men have to be aware of the smallest penetrations into our minds that would stir sexual impure thoughts. Recently me and my wife were faced with a dilemma, teenagers and adults were going an watching the hit comedy 'The Hangover'. So many people where telling us how hilarious the movie was and how the comedy was incredible. We went to a movie review website that breaks down the movie, it is called http://www.pluggedinonline.com/. Here is what was reported as the conclusion of the film:
The Hangover is a movie about how much debauchery a handful of guys can commit—and forget—in one night. There's not much more to it than that. In some ways, it's a relief that the filmmakers didn't try to make up for all the depravity by tacking on a "redeeming" moral at the end. Any attempt to do so would have been too little, too late.
Yet, in other ways, it's surprising how subversive this film is, all the way through. For example, even with the elaborate wedding at the end, the concept of faithfulness doesn't get much of a nod. Instead of promising Tracy he won't ever try the same kind of shenanigans again, Doug promises not to do it "for as long as we're married."
Besides that, the makers of The Hangover weren't satisfied with creating just any 80-proof R-rated movie. They included brazen, 100-proof scenes of male and female nudity, plus an overdose of foul language to ensure that their finished product was as sordid and titillating as possible.
Now here is what 1Corinthians 6:9-10 says - Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
We as men must be on guard. God takes sin seriously and makes it clear throughout the Bible but he doesn't want us to fail in the world. He wants us to be in the world and not OF the world by participating in sin. He wants us to be a light that leads people to a true relationship with Christ.
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