The Lost Dominion of Man

[Mike]

The premise here is that Christian men have, for the most part, shirked their God-given responsibility to lead with righteousness where they have been placed; in the home, at work, and in the community.

Ezekiel 22 "29 The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. 30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one."

The question here is this. Did the world and its ways strip men of their call, or have men simply walk away and let it go?

Looking at the world as it is today, if Christian men assumed the rolls God gave them, could they lead it according to His call? If believing men responded today, would they have the impact He intended them to have, or is the world too far gone. Marriages are in ruin, children are not being taught, communities have no Godly rule and order. I've heard stats suggesting ~80% of men in prisons had an abusive father or no father in the home at all. Is our authority to have dominion powerful enough to change the world if we were to pick up the mantle?

 

[reba]

The question here is this. Did the world and its ways strip men of their call, or have men simply walk away and let it go?

All of the above...

If Christian men would properly assume the roles of life God gave them the Christian women would follow suit..
It started a long time ago... way back in the beginning...Each step a Godly man takes is important..
Just asking such a strong question is a giant step...

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

I think the right standing of a man with God is a learning process.
Bringing people to come and know Jesus as their Lord and Savior is the first step.
Then they can learn what it takes to be a positive influence to those around them.
How much effort do we make to bring people to that first step?
If we don't do it, how much effort do we make to support those who actually do it?
It's a never ending cycle and I believe most of us fall short somewhere along the way.
This is why, no matter what we do, we need a Savior.

 

[Christ_empowered]

I think this is a social problem, so you can't really point at Christian men and say "You did this!". Marriages are much more fragile than in decades past. Weirdly enough, the US has always had a higher divorce rate than most European countries. That was true even in the 19th century. This is apparently a result of American individualism. American culture also tends to be more violent than many other similarly developed nations. We also tend to put more people in prison and keep them there longer, under far worse conditions, than many other nations.

I think a lot of the problem is that people work too much for not enough $$$, families--both nuclear and extended--have largely crumbled, people don't have real friends to help them through life, and because American culture is so hyper-individualistic, we expect individuals and families to do the impossible, on a regular basis, instead of addressing the problems in society. I think its easier to call is a personal problem, moral failing, psychological problem than it is to say "hey, this is something that's affecting the whole society. What's the real problem?"

Christians should aim to be good parents and role models. Christian men should strive to effectively lead their household. That's good stuff...it still leaves a lot of problems that are social in nature. For instance...conservative evangelicals have a divorce rate that, if I recall correctly, is actually slightly higher than the national average. That's probably due largely to socio-economic factors, not their religious preferences, but is it an indvidual problem, a personal failing? I don't think so. I think that as part of being a light unto the darkness, Christians should do more to look at how messed up our whole society is. Maybe we can't really do anything about it...politics are dirty things, after all, but we could work within our own churches, families, communities, social networks, etc. to build a more humane community, 1 person, 1 family, 1 church at a time.

I'm rambling. Its just...OK, in the 60s and 70s, there was this slogan..."the personal is political." Its true. Look at your "personal" problems, and the "personal" problems of those around you. Often, they're rooted in social and economic factors beyond your control, and they're also affecting lots and lots of people. Does that mean Christians--especially Christian men--are powerless in the face of society? No. I do think, however, that before we can effectively change society, or at least improve the lives of Christians and their families, we have to take an honest look at the problems and stop acting as if its just a bunch of individuals with individual problems.

Also...back in the day...people had extended family, friends (real ones, not just facebook friends), etc., people who could help out and who expected things in return (reciprocity). If kiddo acted up at school, the parents would often hear about it (no police officers, 0 tolerance necessary) and be expected to do something about it. Life wasn't perfect back then, but social bonds, at the family and community level, were much stronger and had an effect on people, usually for the good of both the individual and society. What I think we're looking at now is a society in which families have crumbled, everybody's out for #1, and survival is the name of the game. That's why schools have police officers, we're now considered a "stable, high divorce rate" society (divorce is now an accepted part of the individual's life cycle), and people have facebook friends but no one to really talk to about what's actually going in their lives. Like I wrote above, I think step #1 would be building more humane, meaningful bonds, first with our family members, and then with other believers.

And...I'm done, lol.

 

[Mike]

Christ_empowered you had a lot of good stuff there! As Rollo and Reba said as well, we need to get our house in order. Whether we're married, have children, or not, we have dominions and responsibility to oversee them in keeping with God's design. Personally, I do feel believing men dropped the ball, and the result was what we're faced with today. As Reba said, that started a long time ago, so it's not just this generation or recent generations that caused the decline.

Man by man, we need to lead. First as husbands, then as fathers, then out in our world wherever we can have the slightest of impact. I spend a lot of time on CFnet in the Marriage & Parenting Forum and in threads having to do with this matter, because I am passionate about my responsibility as a child of God. With humility, I struggle every day to be the man that He calls me to be in all aspects of my life. I'm part of the problem we face today, because I fall woefully short way too often. By the grace of God, I'm still here, so opportunity is still at hand. Every day, every moment is an opportunity.

 

[jasonc]

one isn't able to make another follow or want the Lord

 

[reba]

Amen Mike

Correct jasonc but we are still to be who we should be as unto the Lord.. ..