One day, preacher and author Francis Chan asked his little girl, “Who’s the best Dad in the World?” obviously fishing for a compliment.
And his daughter replied, “Charles Ingalls,” the father from Little House on the Prairie. I get this because my daughter is a huge Little House fan. Pa was the Man! That was a bit of a shocker for her Dad, but then he started thinking about what it means to be a real man.
This is a clip from the sermon where Francis Chan tells men to Suck it up and be a man! This segment was from about 14 minutes to 18 minutes. Below I’ve transcribed the parts that grabbed my attention.
1 Cor. 16:13 “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith. Act like men, be strong. (NASB)
“When do you ever hear, in our culture, a message that says ‘Act like a man’? We’re living in a day and age when everyone is trying to get rid of all the male and female distinctions and say we’re all just the same. God didn’t uniquely design us. There are no differences. It’s politically incorrect to say ‘Act like a man’. When’s the last time you heard someone say that?
“You get this barrage of messages telling you the opposite. Find your feminine side, look deep inside, express yourself. It’s all this trying to feminize manhood. Then you hear someone say, ‘Act like a Man, the Bible commands you to.’ I’d never heard that before… (and I would personally add, Real Men don’t wear skinny jeans! Act like a man! Of course Mr. Chan did not say that, but take it from me, I’m a woman and I think skinny jeans are girly. But back to the real message…)
“Suck it up and act like a man. When do you hear that? All the messages today are like, It’s not your fault, come here and I’ll hug you, you poor victim. So for a man to stand on a platform and say ‘Suck it up and act like a man’ was like, wow! I’ve never heard these words. We don’t preach this anymore. But they are the exact words that Paul uses here.
“He uses these military terms in 1 Corinthians 16. He says, I’m speaking to some soldiers here. We’re actually in a war here. There’s a battle for your soul, your mind, your family, your conscious. You’ve gotta fight. So he uses these military phrases. He says, ‘Be on the Alert’, be watchful looking for the enemy. He says, ‘Men you’re in a war here. You were born for this battle. You’re in a war, so start acting like it.’
“Stand firm in your faith. It means don’t retreat. The enemy is coming for you. But you stand your ground, stand strong in your faith. You don’t go running away to cry in the corner. No, you stand your ground, it’s an order… You’re going to feel like so many things are flying at you, temptations and problems. And the world will be telling you to run away, but Paul says, ‘act like a man’. Stand your ground, stand firm in your faith. You’re in a war, what did you expect?
“Act like men and be strong. That defines what a man is… a man is defined by his strength. It’s not just about physical strength… it’s about this mental toughness that doesn’t back down. There are times when you will feel overwhelmed and you’ll want to give up, but these words will ring in your mind and you’ll think, ‘No, I’m a man! I don’t run. I stand up and God is going to give me the strength.’ A man’s just gotta do what a man’s gotta do, no matter if it’s not popular or people will hate you for it. God’s called you to be strong.”
From the Sermon entitled “Suck it up and Be a Man” by Francis Chan
Monkeys in My Bag 