Manhood is a Mindset. J. Colin Trisler

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СКАЧАТЬ guide you every step of the way—but I will not live your life for you. I will protect you—but I will not overprotect you. I will provide for you as I teach you what it means to be self-reliant. I will tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear—but you have my word: I will always speak to you with a sense of love and respect.

      My hope is that together, as a team, you and I will take that unsophisticated mess of testosterone and insecurity the world calls adolescence and mold it into a chivalrous mindset of godly masculinity.

      Son, I’m here to let you know that manhood starts not in the muscles, but in the mind. And wisdom is the key that unlocks that treasure chest of masculinity within you. We are going to unlock that treasure together. But we’ll need a guide to show us how it’s done. Fortunately for us, I know just the man for the job. The man God himself proclaimed to be the wisest man who ever lived.

      Israel’s King Solomon.

With these letters, I will guide you through the mind of the world’s wisest man. We’re going to go verse by verse through the first nine chapters of the biblical book of Proverbs. Solomon dedicated these chapters to instructing his son in the principles of godly wisdom and the practices of authentic masculinity.5 He looked to God as the ultimate source of wisdom. And I will do the same.

      I have followed Solomon’s lead and written this book as a personalized discourse. As a series of letters to you, my son. These letters are for you because the truth of God’s wisdom is the best instruction I could ever give you. Be aware, though, that the wisdom in these letters did not originate with me. I am not qualified to hand out eternal truths (I can only discover them). God, however, is very much qualified to define wisdom and truth. And it’s his divinely inspired wisdom and truth that I will impart to you because that is my highest responsibility as your earthly father.

      I have used Solomon’s proverbial discourse as the basis for these letters because even though Solomon and his son lived thousands of years ago, they were regular people just like you and me: a father and his son, men created in the image of God, seeking to live wise and meaningful lives in a world filled with foolishness and confusion.

      We are going to learn by example. By observing a wise and insightful man. Let’s begin our study by looking to the good example of Solomon to understand what wisdom looks like in real life.

      Solomon, the Wisest Man

      Prov 1:1

      In the time of the Old Testament, God raised up Israel as his special people to receive and proclaim the wisdom of his word.

God blessed Israel with many wise and mighty leaders, beginning with Abraham and continuing with other wise men like Moses, Joshua, and Solomon’s father, King David. David was so devoted to walking in the wisdom of the Lord that the Bible calls him a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22). He was a brave warrior, a wise king, and a godly but imperfect man who, like every human being who has ever lived, had moments in his life when he abandoned God’s wisdom and lapsed into foolishness. Although his sins rendered real consequences, the Lord brought David to repentance. And through his forgiveness, God restored their fellowship.6

      David walked closely with God in humility and wisdom, and Israel flourished under his leadership. When he grew old and died, his son Solomon succeeded him as the new king of Israel.

      Solomon was young and inexperienced when God put him on the throne. By his own estimation, he was not ready to lead. He even went so far to describe himself as a little child who didn’t know if he was coming or going in life (1 Kgs 3:7). Ready or not, however, the throne was his. And the legacy of an entire nation now rested upon his fledgling shoulders. Needless to say, the inexperienced Solomon felt overwhelmed by the weight of his newfound responsibility.

      The Bible tells us that “Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places” (1 Kgs 3:3)—meaning, in a very basic sense, that up to this point in his life, Solomon was inconsistent in his walk with God. He loved his Heavenly Father, and he followed in the wise footsteps of his earthly father. Yet Solomon had not committed himself to walking full-time in the wisdom of the Lord. His indecisiveness—his failure to take on the full responsibility of manhood—rocked his youthful spirit back and forth like a tiny paper boat struggling to stay upright in an angry sea of insecurity.

      Reality, however, waits for no man; and like it or not, the throne was his responsibility. In that moment of high anxiety and self-doubt, reality forced Solomon to make a choice. Would he allow his insecurity to master him? Or would he man up and master his insecurity?

      By this time, David, his earthly father, had died. But Solomon still had a Heavenly Father who recognized his dilemma. One night, God appeared to Solomon and offered his support.

      “Ask what you wish me to give you,” was how God began the conversation (1 Kgs 3:5).

      Solomon had a genuine heart for God. He loved the Lord because he had seen with his own eyes how loyal God was to his wise father, who had walked full-time in the principles of God’s wisdom. So Solomon took God up on his offer.

      This was his prayer:

      “You have shown great lovingkindness to Your servant David my father, according as he walked before You in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward You; and You have reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. . . . Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can rule this great people of Yours?” (1 Kgs 3:6–8; 2 Chr 1:10).

      Notice that Solomon did not back down from his responsibility as the king. Nor did he look to abuse his newfound authority by asking God for worldly glory or tyrannical power. Instead he asked for something of real value. Something only God can give: true wisdom.

      Solomon’s mature choice pleased God. And he responded to Solomon’s request in this way:

      “Because you had this in mind,” God said, “and did not ask for riches, wealth or honor, or the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life, but you have asked for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may rule My people over whom I have made you king, wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you . . . behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you.” (2 Chr 1:11–12; 1 Kgs 3:12)

      Solomon could have asked God for anything. But instead of wealth or fame or power, he asked for what he decided was his highest value: to know the ways of God’s wisdom in full.

      When reality called on him to make a decision, Solomon put the wisdom equation into effect:

      Knowledge. Solomon knew what he needed from God. Israel was God’s covenant people and he was their king. He was young and inexperienced, but the responsibility of the throne was his nonetheless and there was no getting around that. His firm grasp of these facts put his situation in context and informed his next move.

      Morality. Solomon made the moral choice in asking for wisdom. He could have asked God for something easy and cheap. But he instead took the more responsible route. He sought the wisdom he needed to govern with justice and righteousness and integrity. Solomon pleased God with his maturity, when he proved his heart was virtuous like СКАЧАТЬ