OK, if you read Mandee's previous post, you know that we are currently launching a mentoring ministry called T2 Ministries. You may also know that I will be publishing a weekly post on Mondays called, appropriately, "Manly Mondays". Or, if you are like me and many other men, your wife read this post and may have told you about it. Either way, I am excited about kicking off Manly Mondays and look forward to your readership and comments.
My son Aidan loves superheroes. Yes, I said "loves". He watches DVDs about them, draws them, talks about them with me, and reads my comics whenever I let him. One of his favorites is Superman. His taste sometimes changes, but he seems to always come back to the man from Krypton with the blue tights, red cape, and big "S" on his chest. A couple of Christmases ago, my nephew bought Aidan a Superman figure that (at the time) was almost as tall as Aidan. That figure has been with us ever since and has been used as everything from a bedtime sleeping toy, to a kickboxing dummy, to playing the part of the groom in an impromptu princess wedding ceremony (the last one was my daughter's and her friends' idea). Yes, it's safe to say that Superman has been a big part of our family's lives. You can imagine Aidan's (and my) delight when, during one of our biweekly trips to the public library, we found a DVD of "Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians", a 1980s cartoon show featuring the Justice League of America (they never called them that on TV, just Superfriends or Super Powers Team). Along with Aidan, I've been able to relive some of the past glories of my Saturday mornings spent watching Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the Justice League protect Earth from the likes of Lex Luthor, Darkseid, and the Scarecrow. Yes, definitely time well spent.
Yesterday, while watching the DVD for the second or third time, I was reminded during one episode of Superman's weakness (yes, he has some): kryptonite. If you know any of Superman's back story, you know that he came to Earth as the last survivor of the planet Krypton, which exploded right after his parents sent him into space in a small spacecraft. He landed on earth, was found by a Kansas farm couple, and later discovered that he had abilities far beyond those of a normal human man. Which of us, even has grown men, haven't sometimes wished for even just one of his powers? Super breath would come in handy in blowing away rain clouds from the golf course, x-ray vision would make finding the biggest bass in the lake a snap, and you haven't had barbecue until you've eaten food grilled using heat vision. That's not even counting the super strength and super speed. As it turns out, Superman's powers come from him absorbing power from Earth's yellow sun. On his planet, the sun was red, so a yellow sun gives him his super abilities (See, your mom was right; sunshine is good for you). That accounts for his strength, but what about his weakness. As it turns out, some of the pieces of Superman's former planet still exist in the galaxy and occasionally make their way to Earth. Some of these pieces have turned green and when Superman comes into contact with them, all of the sudden, he isn't so invulnerable anymore. If he is exposed to green kryptonite for a long enough period of time, he can die.
So how do Superman, pieces of his former planet, and Saturday morning cartoons relate to us as men? In the particular episode I watched with Aidan, Superman was exposed to kryptonite for so long a period of time, that he died (spoiler warning; he didn't really die, but was in a coma and almost died; they did have to keep him on the show after all). The episode showed the effects of his possible death and how everyone, super and normal, tried to cope with it. Now, you and I aren't super, but we do have the potential to do some pretty amazing things through Christ. Like Superman, our power comes from our prolonged exposure to the Son. We come from a previous planet if you will, our former life of sin, and in our new lives in Christ that we are to live about the mediocre and the mundane. So what happens when pieces of our former planet, our "green kryptonite", our past lives of sin, show up in our lives. Like Superman, we may not die right away, but the longer we are exposed to them, the greater our chances of slipping into a spiritual coma and eventually dying in our spirit. Let's look at a Scripture from Titus 1:6. In this chapter, Paul is spelling out to Titus the qualifications for elders who were to set over the churches. Now you or I may or not be elders over churches, but if God sets these as the standards for men in leadership, shouldn't they also be the standard for our lives as men of God? Titus 1:7a (AMP) says, "These elders should be men who are of unquestionable integrity and are irreproachable." So God's standard is, that as men, we should live lives that contain: 1. full integrity, and 2. no reproach. The Greek word for "irreproachable" there means the absence of even a charge or acquisition against a person. Now for some personal application.
As God's men it is His desire that we not allow anything in our lives that would hinder us from His power and His Spirit operating in our lives. Here are a few things His Word (and the cartoon episode I watched) can teach us about this principle.
1. Our compromises affect everyone. When Superman was thought to be dead, it affected everyone around him: a young hero who could have saved struggled with letting everyone down, the other heroes struggled with how they were going to manage without his powers and leadership, and the general public lost their symbol of truth, justice, and the American Way. In the same way, when we compromise, it affects not just us, but our spouses, our children, our church, and any others who look to use for leadership.
2. The sin will come out. Superman's skin turned green after he was exposed to the krypton for too long. It was obvious to everyone that he had been poisoned. When we sin, it will become known and will find us out.Galatians 6:7 teaches us that a man will sow what he reaps.
3. It is paramount to have others around you to provide accountability, protection, and support. Superman was alone when the kryptonite over took him. One of the things I've always appreciated in the comics is the relationship between Batman (he's always been my personal favorite) and Superman. Sure, Batman may not have powers, but he's also not as susceptible to kryptonite. Many times he's been the one to rescue Superman from some unexpected piece of kryptonite showing up somewhere, and Superman has done his share of helping Batman out with runaway trains and falling buildings. We need others in our lives because we're not invulnerable either. Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10 (AMP) says "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor; for if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!"
The Lord knows we are not supermen; in fact, the Word says He knows our frames and knows we are dust. But He also knows what hurts us, and seeks to keep us from it. Like Superman's father sending him out with great hopes for his future, our Father sends us out into a sinful and hurting world to lead our families, businesses, ministries, and churches and to be an example to those around us. May we avoid the kryptonite so we can be our best for Him!
Join me in making this your prayer:
Father, I thank you for calling me your own. Thank you for knowing me and my failures and still choosing to redeem me through your Son. Thank you for choosing me before I chose You, and thank you for your calling on my life. Please help me, by your Holy Spirit, to live a life that is pleasing and upright before you. Please help me to see the areas when I could be tempted to fall, to use the ways of escape You provide, and to give You the praise for your deliverance. Please put other men in my life to whom I can be accountable and to whom I can provide accountability. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
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