Alright I admit it. I am one of those old fashioned fans of John Wayne! I can’t help it. I love his bravado, determination, and rugged manly exterior. So this morning as I am reading the scripture I come across this interesting line, “Act like men” (1 Corinthians 16:13). Wow, isn’t that interesting! The Apostle Paul essentially told his readers, “Man-up!” I also admire the Apostle Paul. I think he and John Wayne might have been good friends, if they didn’t kill each other first. Anyway, here’s the lesson for us today. In our Christian experience there are times we need to just tough it out and do what is right. We don’t need to whine, complain, or retreat. We just need to go on and “act like men” and do what God has called us to. But the very next verse serves as an interesting balance. It says, “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14). So yes be a man, but don’t be cruel or harsh. Be kind and gentle. Carl Sandburg said of Abraham Lincoln, “Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on earth who is both steel and velvet, who is as hard as rock and as soft as drifting fog.” Tough and tender not an easy balance, but a worthy goal for today.
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