Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.  – Colossians 3:17 (The Message)

It’s time for another visit to the poetry corner.  The following was in regular use in my old Boy Scout troop.   It was there I learned a lot about leadership and about service.  So here, for your edification and enjoyment is Edna Wheeler Wilcox’s Two Kinds of People

A leaning door isn’t quite fulfilling its purpose.

TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE

There are two kinds of people on earth today,
Just two kinds of people, no more, I say,
Not the good and the bad, for ’tis well understood
The good are half bad and the bad are half good

Not the happy and sad, for the swift flying years
Bring each man his laughter and each man his tears.
Not the rich and the poor, for to count a man’s wealth
You must first know the state of his conscience and health.

Not the humble and proud, for in life’s busy span
Who puts on vain airs is not counted a man.
No! The two kinds of people on earth I mean
Are the people who lift, and the people who lean.

Wherever you go you will find the world’s masses
Are ever divided in just these two classes.
And, strangely enough, you will find, too, I wean,
There is only one lifter to twenty who lean.

This one question I ask, Are you easing the load
Of overtaxed lifters who toil down the road?
Or are you a leaner who lets others bear
Your portion of worry and labor and care?

-Edna Wheeler Wilcox

Whether it acknowledges it or not, the world needs the unique contributions and leadership of men.  Discovering your purpose — your calling — is worth the time and effort it takes.  And after this, committing to your mission according to that purpose is where a man crafts his legacy.  It is at this point that a man must dedicate himself to being, in the words of the poet, a lifter.

If you’re a leader, bear the burden of leadership by serving those you expect to follow you.  It is important to meet your obligations, and the heart of management is motivating and inspiring others to own and perform the necessary tasks.  Leadership is management with human concerns at the forefront.  So take care to value people and use things — not the other way around.

And if you’re a follower, ease your leader’s burden by offering to take on some of his tasks, and even more by having at least one well-thought-out solution for every problem you bring him.  It may ultimately be his call, but you’re lightening the load by bringing your leader the best thinking you’ve got.

So how about you?  In what ways are you helping to bear your share of the load in your family, career, church and community?  Add your comments below.

“See my beard
ain’t it weird?
Don’t be skeered
It’s just a beard” – George Carlin

November is the month dedicated to men’s health issues, and let’s be real — men, we’ve got issues! Between prostate cancer, testicular cancer, emotional or psychological disorders, addiction, and poor fitness, it almost seems like we’re doomed. Notice I said “almost.” And “seems” — I also said it seems like we’re doomed.

A No-shave November success dreams of a cure.
photo by Jay Mantri

Well, life is fatal…

The last time I checked, the probability of death is 1, meaning that it is certain each of us will die. That doesn’t mean that life is meaningless. I argue just the opposite — each of us owes it to himself to make the most of his one-and-only life, no matter how long or short it may be.

Take care of yourself

We’ve talked about this before. It is not selfish to take care of your health. It is good stewardship to maintain your health so you can take care of the ones you love. This means, you are to, as Bob Buford puts it, “Build on the islands of health and strength.” You invest in health and strength in yourself, so you can invest your health and strength cultivating it in others.

In other posts, we’ve talked about the benefits of exercise, and about how to eat for optimal health. If I haven’t devoted an entire post to the importance of sleep, I should do that soon. In the meantime, please note that I said quality sleep is important.

Do I have to go to the doctor?

No, you get to go to the doctor. If your budget and insurance coverage allow for it, please allot time and dollars for an annual physical examination. We live in a remarkable age, when we have treatments and even cures for so many dread diseases — especially when your doctor can catch them early. A saying common among the old folks was, “A stitch in time saves nine.” Allow me to translate: addressing a problem early saves time and money — and where your health is concerned, it could save your life.

Those who do not remember the past…

In addition to developing a professional relationship with your doctor, take the time to learn your family’s medical history. Many risk factors for diseases are genetic. Knowing whether any of your relatives had cancer or heart disease can help you reduce your risk through lifestyle changes and more careful screening. This also applies to alcoholism, by the way.

Bonus fact: Infertility is hereditary. If your parents didn’t have kids, chances are you won’t either.

What’s with Movember and No-Shave November?

I’m so glad you read the question I planted! As I have been promoting both of these to my subscribers (and if you’re not one, you know you could become one for free), both Movember and No-Shave November are worldwide campaigns to raise awareness and funds for research into men’s health issues. If you want to participate, you grow a mustache (for Movember) or a full facial crop for No-Shave November and donate what you would otherwise spend on grooming products (razors, blades, shave cream, etc.) to the cause. By participating, you make a real virtue of something that happens naturally and you can actually save a life by NOT doing something.

How big a deal is this?

It’s a pretty big deal. Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in men — the second leading cause of cancer death in men (lung cancer is first) — with nearly a quarter million new cases every year and approximately 25,000 deaths. Prostate cancer is much more common after age 65, and the CDC estimates that every man has a 1 in 7 chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime. Although most prostate cancers are slow-growing, the treatments can be debilitating. We need to continue research to improve detection and treatment options.

Testicular cancer affects younger men, with most cases occurring between the ages of 15 and 40. It is one of the most frightening cancers to contemplate, but it is actually one of the most easily treated and cured. Stage I diagnoses have a 99% survival rate. Your lifetime risk of getting testicular cancer is about 1 in 200. At the same time, it is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men ages 15-to-35, so it pays to be vigilant.

As I mentioned above, early detection is the key. And one way you can help yourself is to learn how to perform a testicular self examination (TSE). You can (ahem) handle this in the shower once a month. It takes less than a minute.

Help a brother out

You mission, should you decide to accept it, is as follows:

• Sign up for No-shave November or Movember
• Grow a big ol’ beard or a stylin’ mustache (You may even decide to keep it year ’round.)
• Please donate — you can’t pay research scientists with awareness

So how about you? How are you going to get involved in improving men’s health — yours and others’? Add your comments below.

“When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.” – Proverbs 29:2 (ESV)

In the movie The Matrix, there is a confrontation between Morpheus — the guide who helps Thomas Anderson become Neo — and Agent Smith, the nondescript enforcer of the meta-construct. Smith has taken Morpheus captive and is trying to get the codes from Morpheus to enter and destroy Zion. Here’s what he says:

AGENT SMITH: I hate this place. This zoo. This prison. This reality, whatever you want to call it, I can’t stand it any longer. It’s the smell, if there is such a thing. I feel saturated by it. I can taste your stink and every time I do, I fear that I’ve somehow been infected by it.”

This scene has stayed in my memory from the first time I saw it, and it has come to mind again recently as I have had the misfortune of reading or watching the news.

A not-so-frightening vision of the future.

The ruling elite

In his book, Coming Apart, sociologist Charles Murray traces the diverging paths of two groups of white Americans — the high-school-educated (or less) residents of Fishtown and the college-and-beyond residents of Belmont — over five decades. The book is definitely worth reading in its entirety, but one of Murray’s most significant observations concerns the emergence of what he calls the cognitive elite.

These are the graduates of the most prestigious colleges and universities, the one percent as they are also known, and they live in a surprisingly small number of zip codes clustered around Washington, DC, New York and Los Angeles. Note those locations, as they are the principal centers of journalism, entertainment and government. Murray’s thesis is that these comparatively few citizens set the policy and the tone for the rest of the country, while they have less and less in common with the ones to whom they offer their prescriptions.

Enter the Matrix

With few exceptions, there has been very little in the way of push-back from citizens while the demands of government — aided and promoted by the news media and popular entertainment — have grown more and more hostile to the needs of individuals and local communities. If you question this, please consider as one piece of evidence the executive branch’s use of executive orders in lieu of working with the legislative branch. Both parties have done this.

Or consider the passage of the Affordable Care Act — thousands of pages hastily written and largely unread by our elected officials, but pushed through by brute force by the majority party and saved from itself by the Supreme Court. Oh, and did I mention that the same representatives exempted themselves from the requirements of the law they passed?

This hardly seems like the servant leadership that is necessary for the functioning of a constitutional republic. In fact, it seems as though the ruling elite have dropped all pretense and are now openly expressing disdain for those who are outside their circle.

You can see the wires, right?

If you’ve watched low-budget science fiction from the 1960’s on a high definition television, you’ve probably seen the wires used to make the model spacecraft fly. Nothing spoils that suspension of disbelief faster.

What’s telling is that the disdain from the ruling class — this showing the wires — is further evidence of their contempt. Apparently they believe you are too numb or too preoccupied to notice, but even if you did — what would you do about it?

Oh, the Irony!

Let’s take a moment to list just a few of the ways our supposed betters have succeeded in reshaping our country:

• Americans are overweight and obese — thanks to the dietary guidelines provided by the government
• Americans lag educationally — thanks to nationalization of educational standards
• Americans are largely dependent on government assistance — thanks to reclassifying otherwise able-bodied unemployed adults as disabled.
• Americans are unemployable — thanks to government policies that reduce opportunity and make it more profitable for companies not to hire and for individuals not to work
• Fatherlessness is a crisis especially among the poor — thanks to government assistance that penalizes married, two-parent families

So you can see, I hope, the irony of the ruling elites’ Pyrrhic victory — they have sown seeds liberally (*ahem*) only to despise the harvest from those seeds. Whether witting or unwitting, their project over the past fifty years or more has been to demolish the very institutions and influences that provide order and stability, then to disparage the ones trusting enough to implement their guidance. This is Agent Smith complaining about the smell of The Matrix.

Isn’t this supposed to be encouraging?

You’re right, this is for your encouragement. But realize that friends sometimes have to deliver a painful message. I do have some practical suggestions that I hope will help you to question and to be more street-smart about instructions from any central authority.

• Think for yourself –Don’t spread gossip or rumors. Get the facts and make up your own mind. Note that many times the first attempt to control you is with fear. Stare it down.
• Seek wisdom — Consult dependable sources. When Paul the apostle visited the first century town of Berea, the good people there listed to what Paul said and compared it to the scriptures before believing it. This is your model.
• Stay informed — There has never been a better time to break the information cartel. The internet remains a treasure because it allows individuals to bypass spin and investigate more thoroughly. As one suggestion, consider looking at the websites for European newspapers. You’ll be able to compare their coverage to that of US papers and see what they consider newsworthy and what facts deserve emphasis.
• Tell your friends — Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. You won’t change much if you can’t convince your crew. So start there.
• Be a good citizen — This means taking advantage of your God-given rights to speak freely, to assemble peaceably and to petition your government. Register and cast an informed ballot. Hold leaders to a higher standard. They wanted the job — let them earn the right to keep it. I have started to view our two-party system the way I view professional wrestling I still vote, though.
• Local, local, local — Strive to make your community as functional as possible. Patronize local businesses. Cultivate friendships across typical divides. Volunteer through your local church. Get to know the candidates for mayor, city and county council and sheriff — vote for the ones who share your values. Community in all its connotations is still important.

It’s still possible for each of us to become the best possible version of himself. If we do this, it breaks the power of the Matrix by making it largely irrelevant.

So how about you? In what ways are you working to become your best? Add your comments below.

“The best argument for Christianity is Christians: their joy, their certainty, their completeness. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians–when they are sombre and joyless, when they are self-righteous and smug in complacent consecration, when they are narrow and repressive, then Christianity dies a thousand deaths.” – Sheldon Vanauken, A Severe Mercy

As of last Friday, it would seem that the Supreme Court of the US took the definition of marriage from the hands of the people and put it on a high shelf out of reach. Plenty of others have commented on the legal, moral and social implications of the 5-4 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, so I don’t intend to take our time here being outraged. Instead, I want to offer these seven steps to help you remain hopeful in spite of the decision.

I don’t really have anything clever. Somehow this image seems apt.

But first, a reminder

I have declared my biases from the beginning: I am a profoundly imperfect follower of Jesus Christ and I depend on Him and His grace. I hold the Bible to be the inspired, inerrant Word of God. What it says about the nature of God and the nature of man I take as true for all people in all places at all times. (It’s not necessary for you to agree with me, but you should not have to guess where I’m coming from.)

Although I publish this blog on my dime and on my own time, I serve my local church as an elder, so I am not my own. I do not reserve to myself the right to write or speak in a way to bring disgrace on those to whom I am obligated, including my Lord. In the spirit of loving God and loving my neighbor, I offer the following as encouragement to those feeling disappointed or dismayed by the court’s decision.

1. Look around. Nothing eternal has changed

True, the Supreme Court has ruled, and justices of the peace and county clerks are doing land office business issuing marriage licenses and performing ceremonies for same-sex couples. But God is still sovereign and He gets the last word over the affairs of men. The physical and moral laws of the created order are still in effect. Psalm 46:10 reminds us, “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” This God is the Most High — the King of all kings and His kingdom in unshakeable.

2. Rejoice: Agape love wins

This is the trouble with English: we only have one word for love. In the US, when the word love appears in conjunction with the word marriage, the connotation is of romantic or erotic love — eros.

I submit to you that the kind of love that never fails is that unconditional love that the ancient Greeks called agape. This kind of love is not transactional, is not rooted in feelings and begins and ends with God Himself. This is the love that motivated God to have mercy on His fallen creatures, to take on human flesh and make atonement in our place to satisfy the claims of divine justice. Even if we must suffer for it, this is what we are called to offer to this fallen world.

3. Say it after me: My stuff stinks

We are all fallen. The Bible teaches that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). It is a form of pride to categorize sin — especially when I seek to file all of mine under N for “Not That Bad.”

In The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Al Ries and Jack Trout wrote, “when you admit a negative, the (customer) will give you a positive.” In this context, being candid about our own failings  — especially our own sexual brokenness — and our ongoing need for God’s grace, may cause those who don’t share our faith at least to acknowledge our good will and perhaps to reconsider God’s offer of forgiveness.

4. Hold your head up

I like being liked. Nearly all of us do. (I said nearly all, ok?) It is tempting to soft-pedal what one thinks about the issue of same-sex marriage — especially when friends and colleagues are applying rainbow filters to their profile pictures. Although the matter at law was decided outside of the political process, what citizens believe and live by still matters. This is no time to go into hiding, nor to be intimidated into silence.

The thing about truth is, once you know it, you can’t un-know it. If we have faith that God exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him, we do not have to fear. More importantly, there is still a vast world of hurting people who need the love of God – we are just the people to bring it to them.

5. Don’t be fooled

Freedom of worship is not the same thing as freedom of religion. Freedom of religion includes the freedom to worship, but the opposite is not true. This is a linguistic shell game that we must refuse to play, because freedom of religion is the first freedom. The freedom to practice your religion means you are at liberty to act or not act according to the tenets of your faith and your conscience. If your conscience is privatized, what you believe will only be allowed within the walls of your church and between your ears – it won’t be allowed to show up in any meaningful way.

6. Be on the lookout for triumphalism

There are lots of people — from the president on down — hailing this decision. Fair enough. But there have already been triumphalist articles like this one, calling for elimination of churches’ tax exempt status if they refuse to alter their doctrines to accommodate the will of the Supreme Court. There are plenty of flaws in the argument — not least of which is calling a tax-exemption a subsidy — but this idea clearly overlooks the many ways faithful believers and their congregations improve their communities and send medical care, literacy, clean water — and hope — all over the world.

There’s also this: Jesus said the gates of Hell would not prevail against His church. This is encouraging enough to keep us going, but sobering enough to keep us humble. In the meantime, heed Jesus’ admonition to be as cunning as serpents, gentle as doves, and be a street-smart Christian.

7. Remain vigilant

In a previous post, we discussed how Marxist feminism sought to bring about cultural revolution by destroying men. Recall that the snares intended to destroy men were (and I quote), “… promiscuity, eroticism, prostitution and homosexuality.”

When I published the original post, I understood how the first three were corrosive to monogamy, but I was unclear how homosexuality played into this. Redefining marriage — or more specifically, saying there is absolutely no difference between heterosexual and homosexual unions — makes this clear. Add to that the high percentage of self-reported “open” same sex marriages, and the picture’s focus gets sharper still. Over time, we’ll see whether and to what extent same-sex marriages become more like heterosexual marriages, or whether heterosexual marriages become more like their same-sex counterparts.

We are fallen creatures, and temptation is strong — especially sexual temptation. But participation in the program of our own destruction is completely voluntary. If we believe there is a qualitative difference in favor of heterosexual marriage, those of us who are married need to do a better job of  stewarding the institution.

Waiting for orders

As long as we live, we who bear the name of Christ are to love selflessly and serve the lost and the least. As the author of Hebrews wrote:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

³ Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” – Hebrews 12:1-3 (ESV)

We who follow Jesus are no longer setting the agenda for our culture. This does not relieve us of our duty to love those for whom God gave His son — yes, especially when it’s difficult.

So how about you? How do you intend to stay hopeful? Add your comments below.

Some time ago, I read an article expounding on the theory of 20th century playwright and anthropologist, Robert Ardrey.  In his book, The Territorial Imperative, Ardrey states that once a creature’s survival needs are met (Think Maslow’s hierarchy: food, clothing and shelter), there is a hierarchy of psychological needs.  Ardrey posited that these needs are identity, stimulation and security — in that order.  Let’s look at each one in light of the state of contemporary masculinity.

Use your skills to create something real

Identity

The foundational psychological need is to have a correct view and knowledge of oneself.  One of the earliest lessons an infant learns is the difference between himself and others — as Cloud and Townsend in their book, Boundaries, said it – “the difference between ‘me’ and ‘not me.'”

I have said before that this culture has deep-rooted ambivalence toward men and masculinity.  On one hand, people envy and desire men’s strength, ingenuity and protectiveness, but it also seems plenty of people are happy to enjoy the fruit of men’s labor without compensating them.

At the level of the state, government taxes men’s labor and redistributes their income to provide for others.  The recipients include the worthy poor, who have fallen on hard times but are doing all they can; but they also include the professional beneficiaries who make no pretense of looking for work.

Societally, men’s strength is regarded as a net negative.  If you doubt this, consider that on police domestic disturbance calls, the responding officer will escort the man from the premises — even if he’s the one who placed the call.  On college campuses, an allegation of sexual misconduct is sufficient to derail a man’s academic career, no matter how scant or ambiguous the evidence.

This is not an endorsement or defense of the abuse of masculine strength, but it does show how the presumption falls.  I point this out to illustrate how the message to men of goodwill is: “Your strength is something to be ashamed of.” Or at the very least it’s “Men aren’t all that special any more.”

This is causing a crisis of male identity.  Is a man supposed to be a caring neuter nurturer a la Stuart Smalley, or a swaggering lothario?  As if those are the only choices!  Unfortunately, it seems even some churches are confused about the specifics of maleness — the calling and giftedness of being a man — as opposed to interchangeable “persons.”

I affirm what scripture teaches, even when it’s uncomfortable.   However, the misuse of the verse stating that there is “neither male nor female” doesn’t invalidate the purpose for which God made men and women nor the respective roles of each.  We are all equal before God, but that does not equate to each of us having the same mission.  God loves me exactly the same as He loves LeBron James or Aaron Rodgers, but I am not suited to either man’s job.  I’m fine with that.

This same crisis is also present in the family.  When fathers are absent, by their own volition or against their will, it creates a void.  Who will step in to confer on a son his true name, to affirm the masculine in him?  There are signs that fatherlessness is hereditary — that is, if you didn’t have a dad, chances are your children won’t either.  You can, however, decide now to be a father to your children.

The term “love child” is a euphemism for what we used to call a bastard — a son with no name.  It is unfair to tag a kid for his parents’ wrongs, but the old stigmas used to motivate people toward doing right by their children, whatever the circumstances of their conception.

Consider how fatherlessness and the deterioration of marriage has caused us to be less sure of ourselves.  We’re rootless, isolated and unsure of our identity.   Worse, the fundamental institutions that used to confer identity — family, church, country — are in too many cases sounding an uncertain trumpet.  They seem ambivalent, unable to define themselves, let alone to affirm the identities of men.

Should God’s men be in doubt regarding who  — and whose — they are?  I admit it’s late, but it is not too late.

Stimulation

Think of the many ways we have to overcome boredom.  The internet — boon that it is — can also be a scourge to those with an unmet need for stimulation.  Now it’s possible to visit the virtual equivalents of seedy hotels, casinos and brothels without the risk of being found out.  Gambling and pornography are just two of the ways a man can get into trouble online.

Then, of course, people resort to social media to attract attention to themselves, or to engage in the two minutes’ hate of social media shaming or outright slander.  The cost and the consequences for the perpetrators are very nearly zero.  Creating offense or feeling outrage is a pale substitute for really living, but at least the ones who do these things feel something.

In a previous role as a worship leader, other leaders and I would discuss  how to distinguish between leading people into worship versus entertaining them.  I argued then that the conflict isn’t between worship and entertainment.  To entertain simply means to hold the attention of others.  A leader can direct that attention toward God or toward himself.  No, the conflict is between entertainment and amusement.  Where entertainment holds one’s attention, amusement seeks to distract.

The economic climate is hostile, and the lack of meaningful or challenging work is a contributor to boredom.  But rather than seeking distraction in fantasy worlds or stimulation in tormenting others, how about seeking stimulation through the creation of value?  There are still opportunities to make a difference — and even if serving others doesn’t pay your bills, it will hold your attention and teach you how to apply yourself to solve problems.  Ultimately, that’s how all of us get paid.

Security

Ardrey explained that security was third because it was the most contingent on one’s place in the biome.  Large predators with no predators of their own to fear, had less of a need for security than prey animals down the food chain.

Most men in the west don’t have the kind of existential peril from lions, tigers and bears, instead our security is threatened by economic uncertainty and relationship instability.  Part of the Marxist feminist project I wrote about previously was to supplant America’s culture by destroying the American patriarch — by destroying men.  Understand that strategy and you’re prepared to defend against it.  At its heart, it’s about convincing a lion to believe he’s a fixed housecat.  Unless you’ve had the surgery, it isn’t necessary for you to go along with this.

Security rises or falls with identity.  The less sure you are of who you are and what you stand for, the less secure you’re likely to be.  The more secure you are, the less prone you are to boredom.  All of this in spite of employment status or bank balance.

And the remedy is?

I’m so glad you planted that question in my head as I was writing this!  Let’s go back to the top of the list.  Identity is foundational and non-negotiable.  You simply must know who you are.  God has revealed Himself as our Father in Heaven, so we must start by asking Him to tell us our true name and to affirm our masculinity.

From there, we must understand our purpose and our mission in life.  The right mission will carry you through your entire life, and if you are allocating time for work, rest and play, you can avoid the boredom that leads to fruitless stimulation.  Mental masturbation is as fruitless as its real-world counterpart. You and I were made to build things, to create, to come through.

Our security derives from understanding our place in the universe.  A man who places himself under the authority of God has a rock solid identity as a son and an heir.  He has a purpose to fulfill and a job designed for him.

So how about you?  From what do you derive your identity, stimulation and security?  Add your comments below.

In honor of Veterans Day, a heartfelt word of thanks to all of you who have served or are serving in America’s armed forces.  Thank you for your willingness to train, to suffer hardship, to experience separation from your loved ones, and to put your life at risk for your countrymen.

My father-in-law (front row, right end) and the rest of the bomber crew. Note their B-24 Liberator in the background.

My late father-in-law was a veteran of World War II,  He was one of four brothers, all of whom were drafted away from their family farm in rural Tennessee.

After completing his training, he became a Technical Sergeant in the Army Air Corps — the precursor to the US Air Force.   His responsibilities included making in-flight repairs and serving as a waist gunner aboard a B-24 Liberator bomber in the European theater, as part of the Mighty Eighth Air Force.

Like many men of his generation, he rarely talked about his experiences during the war, downplaying the danger and his role.  “It was late in the war by the time I got over there,” he always said.   Once when my grandmother asked if he had ever been to Germany, he gave a slight smile and said, “No, but I’ve been over it.”

Following the war, he returned to the farm for a while before enrolling in Tennessee Tech on the GI Bill.  Following his graduation from college, he earned a doctorate in agronomy and genetics from the University of Wisconsin.

With his PhD, he took a position as a research agronomist with the US Department of Agriculture and was assigned to a research station at a large state university.  He worked there the rest of his career, developing numerous soybean cultivars that fed millions and teaching graduate students from around the world.

As distinguished as his career was, he was also a devoted husband and father, raising my wife and her siblings in a godly household.

Over the past dozen years or so, we have seen popular sentiment regarding military service return to an appropriate level of respect and gratitude.  This is as it should be.

At the same time, I hear and read some people saying that the US is no longer worthy of such devotion or service.  I am not here to argue for or against — especially not with those who have served.  On this occasion, however, I want to commend those who, like my father-in-law, saw their duty, did it and came home to build an exemplary life.  This is still a county that produces such men.  That is worth preserving.

So how about you?   What lessons did you learn from your own military service, or that of your friends or family members?  How are you using that wisdom to be your best?  Add your comments below.

A leaning door isn’t quite fulfilling its purpose.

Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.  – Colossians 3:17 (The Message)

It’s time for another visit to the poetry corner.  The following was in regular use in my old Boy Scout troop.   It was there I learned a lot about leadership and about service.  So here, for your edification and enjoyment is Edna Wheeler Wilcox’s Two Kinds of People

TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE

There are two kinds of people on earth today,
Just two kinds of people, no more, I say,
Not the good and the bad, for ’tis well understood
The good are half bad and the bad are half good

Not the happy and sad, for the swift flying years
Bring each man his laughter and each man his tears.
Not the rich and the poor, for to count a man’s wealth
You must first know the state of his conscience and health.

Not the humble and proud, for in life’s busy span
Who puts on vain airs is not counted a man.
No! The two kinds of people on earth I mean
Are the people who lift, and the people who lean.

Wherever you go you will find the world’s masses
Are ever divided in just these two classes.
And, strangely enough, you will find, too, I wean,
There is only one lifter to twenty who lean.

This one question I ask, Are you easing the load
Of overtaxed lifters who toil down the road?
Or are you a leaner who lets others bear
Your portion of worry and labor and care?

                                                  -Edna Wheeler Wilcox

Whether it acknowledges it or not, the world needs the unique contributions and leadership of men.  Discovering your purpose — your calling — is worth the time and effort it takes.  And after this, committing to your mission according to that purpose is where a man crafts his legacy.  It is at this point that a man must dedicate himself to being, in the words of the poet, a lifter.

If you’re a leader, bear the burden of leadership by serving those you expect to follow you.  It is important to meet your obligations, and the heart of management is motivating and inspiring others to own and perform the necessary tasks.  Leadership is management with human concerns at the forefront.  So take care to value people and use things — not the other way around.

And if you’re a follower, ease your leader’s burden by offering to take on some of his tasks, and even more by having at least one well-thought-out solution for every problem you bring him.  It may ultimately be his call, but you’re lightening the load by bringing your leader the best thinking you’ve got.

So how about you?  In what ways are you helping to bear your share of the load in your family, career, church and community?  Add your comments below.