Getting Back Up

A Manual For Men (but the ladies can benefit too!)

I was doing well for several months but then was judgmental and stumbled. I also overdid something that upset the apple-cart, and in the end, I should have found a better way to cope.

I was angry, frustrated and depressed, so I fell off the wagon. But I’m pressing on to focus on Jesus, and not on my sin. Can I right my ship? Time will tell.

We are to fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the Cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the Right Hand of the Father.

When men sin, dwelling on that sin is not the way to repentance; grieving the sin might be good, and there will be some consequences, but getting back on the horse is imperative.

As men, we are called to love our wives (and everyone). So what happens when we don’t know where to go with our feelings? We can’t always focus on our wives.

Sometimes friends can help, but if we can recenter our minds on God and also on work, we might be able to reset our paradigm back to the loving, gracious people we are called to be.

Men are called to lay down their lives for their wives. What does that mean? That means that sometimes we have to eat crow. Sometimes, we have to sacrifice our own agenda. Often, we have to swallow our pride and keep our thoughts and emotions to ourselves.

Sometimes we literally die. I think of John Lennon, when Mark David Chapman went to kill the singer songwriter, Lennon flung himself in front of his wife Yoko so she wouldn’t take any bullets.

Lennon died at age forty on October 8th, 1980. He was only forty years old. I remember the day by heart. Yoko is now ninety-one, and has had a long life on her own. Lennon was willing to give up his life for his best friend.