Formed by Christ’s Power & Defined by His Humility
Becoming the man you should be
You are not the man you want to be, so you start waking up at 4:30 AM to own the day before the world is awake. You drink your 16 ounces of water and wait at least 90 minutes after waking to drink your coffee to increase your energy and improve mental clarity. You exercise your body with a run and strength training and you exercise your mind by reading Jordan Peterson‘s 12 Rules of Life. You then go to your standing desk with a walking treadmill to churn out those most important emails for the day. You shower, get dressed, make your bed and now that your productivity wheel has started, you’re ready to sit down and eat a protein rich breakfast with at least 30g.
You have perfected your morning routine to make sure your day starts off right with a sense of accomplishment.
Outside of your morning routine, you are generally trying to eat, healthier, limit your screen time, substitute watching TV and video games for reading, hit the gym, grab time with mentor, engage in a hobby, shut off work and put your phone on do not disturb by 5 PM and end your day with a list of the things you were thankful for from the day and making your to-do list for tomorrow to offload your brain before you go to bed and do it all over again.
You start to feel you’ve mastered the day-to-day. You are more productive than ever. Your confidence is rising. And why wouldn’t it? These disciplines are creating good results. You are healthier, more intentional, more productive and learning to be more present.
The gospel of self-sufficiency
But along the way, a dangerous shift can happen. You begin to believe that if you can just discipline yourself enough, you can become everything you were meant to be. You start to believe you have within yourself everything you need to become the man you should be.
And that’s the lie being served to us from self-help gurus and influencers preaching the gospel of self-sufficiency and the best version of yourself.
This gospel feeds us the lie of self-redemption; that with enough discipline, determination, and self-improvement, we can become the men we were created to be.
But the problem is not discipline. Discipline is good and we are made for Godly discipline. Scripture repeatedly calls us to self-control, diligence and perseverance. These can lead to various spiritual, relational, and physical benefits.
The problem is believing these voices that discipline can accomplish only what Christ can.
Formed by Christ's power; Defined by Christ's humility
No amount of self-improvement can remedy the sin in our hearts or reconcile us to God. We cannot discipline ourselves into redemption.
“But it's very important not to confuse this vision of self-sufficient, self-improvement with Christian manhood. You will find scripture affirming principles such as discipline, self-control, courage, and so forth, but these things are the application, not the formation of redeemed masculinity… That desire for independence, self-sufficiency, self-determination was the original sin that led to the mess that we are all in now. So contrary to this haughty ideology of masculine sufficiency that has become so popular, redeemed masculinity is actually a journey out of our independence and into further dependence upon the Lord. Christian manhood doesn't lie to men by telling them they have what it takes.” - Cunningham
We don’t need to redeem ourselves (and we can’t). We need a Redeemer. Our masculinity must be formed as Cunningham says, “by Christ’s power rather than masculine self-sufficiency.”
If we buy into this lie that our masculinity is formed by our self-sufficiency, then our masculinity will be defined by destructive pride and entitlement rather than the humility Christ displayed and God intended for our design.
Listen to this next episode to learn more about how Christ redeems your masculinity.
Episode: The Mighty Meekness of Masculinity: Part 10 - Power & Humility
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts
Reflection
- Where have you relied on self-sufficiency rather than Christ’s power? What has it produced in you?
- Where are you displaying pride and entitlement in your life? Who do you need to confess this to and ask for forgiveness? Pray and ask the Spirit to produce humility in you.