I have reached a conclusion, men don’t care. Or nobody thinks we care. Or some combination of both. There’s nothing out there for us, tailored to our sporadic thoughts and limitless ability to care about only semi-useful information. Nevermind, everything is catered to that… What there is a shortage of is that which helps our hearts survive in a modern society. Same story, different century, and same results. We’re just men/boys and can’t be expected to be faithful and driven towards a God-centered life, with all of the societal distractions and expectations to provide and spend money (the source of monastic societies?). Even popular Bible/Devotional sites skate past us. I think it’s possible to be speaking from a generational perspective in this case. But if that’s true, where will our hearts and those of our children be in the future?

Maybe we’re just assumed to be primary consumers? I don’t think so. Not anymore. Let’s be honest, our wives/girlfriends/mothers/somebody consumes the information around us and prioritize it for us. This is not Mad Men. If my wife doesn’t like it, we don’t buy it. I even have her read these posts; just to make sure I’m not completely leaving women out, for just this reason. Hypocrite? Yep. So if your ‘other’ told you about or to read this, sorry. Maybe you need to hear it.

Do you ever like to type in the first part of inquiry on Google just to see the list of common searches? Probably not, I’m just weird like that. Nevertheless, when I type in ‘devotions for’ the first responses are as follows… women, teens, couples, Lent and then men. Really, after Lent? I’m not downplaying the importance of deprivation leading up to the resurrection of Jesus, but really? Nor am I belittling the value of couples spending time in God’s word. What I am say is this, shouldn’t we as men do our best to make sure we’re whole enough to be part of that couple? (Good news, as of editing this, we jumped Lent, but I’m leaving it for impact and literary sake. But at least during the Spring, Lent. Probably be Advent come December.)

I know there are pastors out there who encourage and write for men daily. But in my limited opinion we are one of the most susceptible groups of humans in the world to follow a path of immorality, while being told to feel good about it. Which is funny, most people see us as the presumed leaders of morality.

A few things need to happen before we can possibly lead in this way. First, we have to constantly remind ourselves that our mind is not as strong as we think it is. Second, we need to be encouraged and reminded daily that our purpose in this world is far beyond our physical needs and desires. Third and not any less important, is how unfaithful and useless our eyes can be when we forget about these first two. My wife reminds me to do common chores around the house regularly. My cardinal sin is forgetting to put a trash bag back in the can after I take out a full one.  Simple, I know. But the point I’m making here is that if we can’t manage to train ourselves to remember the little things, I think we might be in trouble.

What now? Start by being the courageous man you were created to be. Be amazing. Be better and rise above the cloud of crap that is around you. While most of us can’t just cut off the world around us, we at least need to be conscience of our weakness and inability. Perfection is not a requirement.