Male (Boy) vs. Man – It’s Time To Raise Our Standards!

Male vs. Man – do we really know the difference?  I know your first response is to say “of course” I know the difference between a male/boy and a mature man but look around, look around and then you will see there is a definite problem!  As you look around, take a look at your own dating life – when did you learn the difference?  How did you learn it & who taught the differences to you?   Ladies and gentlemen we really have to raise our standards!  It’s time we synchronize our definition about this with God’s definition!  Just like with everything, God’s way of doing things is the best for us.  No surprise there right?

As you look around at other people and maybe even yourself, you will see that most of us have fallen victim to “the grass looks greener syndrome”.  Married people want to be single & single people wanna be married.  No one is happy where they are & with who they are with.  It is such a problem Joyce Meyer even wrote a book about it called “Enjoying Where You Are on the Way to Where You’re Going”.  Why is it that we are so preoccupied with how someone else is living or what their lives look like, especially when we know people lie about how they are living to make people think things are better than they really are?  We know this but we continue to peep into the lives of others.  What would happen if we took our eyes off the lives of others & started looking at ourselves & our own lives?  Wouldn’t it give us more time to work on ourselves?  I don’t know about you, but I’m a full time job!  I don’t have time to mind anyone else business if I’m gonna keep me straight!

Looking into the lives of other people instead of our own lives is only the beginning of our mistake.  Life is a journey of discovery in order to discover & uncover our divine earthly assignments.  Therefore, each season or phase of life has its own purpose.  Each gives us the chance to learn, grow and put into practice what has just been taught.  I remember my parents telling me when I was a teenager to stop trying to grow up so fast.  I thought I was grown & knew it all.  They told me I would never get this time back & they were right.  Of course I didn’t listen to the degree that I should have & I missed some important lessons. It wasn’t until I grew up that I understood what they really meant.  As a teenager I thought they were just trying to keep me from having fun.  How many of you did the exact same thing?

But even as adults we continue with this childlike unproductive pattern of behavior.  Satan has us convinced that where we are is not good enough.  So my point is this – The summer is here and folks are hot!  As I look around me everywhere I see the results of bad choices based on incorrect information.  And I’m talking about folks in the church too!  The summer has exposed broken hearts, pregnancies outside of marriage, broken relationships and the lack of strong family units!

Ladies and gentlemen we have to raise our standards thus changing our conduct of behavior!  So today let’s talk about the difference between a male & a man from the perspective of one word – maturity!  I know we all believe we are mature adults but our behavior says something different!

The bible even talks about it in a few places.  So let’s start first with I Corinthians 13:11 (amp); When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.  God made us to mature as we grew in age, so what happened?  Basically we stopped looking to God for answers and started to do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted.  And who told us this was better than God’s way? See how that’s been working for us!  Ladies are having babies with no commitment from any of their baby daddies – many of them don’t even know who the daddies are!  If you think I’m lying just check out one episode of the Maury Show!  Guys make babies & find it easy to simply walk away never caring enough to look back.  As a result, our babies are dying in the streets & no one wants to take responsibility for that.

Let me help you out by giving you the correct information about what a real man is straight from God.  This has to be the only standard you live by.  No matter what anybody or anything (Satan) has told you this is how we’re supposed to live and it will give you everything you’ve ever wanted in a relationship with the opposite sex.

Males/boys grow into men by letting God mature them in the following areas (I’m only gonna cover a few of the basics areas).

1. A man has to be mature spiritually – to lead a wife and children by finding out from God the role of his family & how to get them there.

2. A man has to be mature in his personal self – To understand the true role of the man (& accept it) in order to be responsible in society & as a husband & father.

3. A man has to be mature economically – he must be able to hold a good job (yes ladies your man has to work) – He has to make enough money to provide for himself & his family & he must know how to handle his money properly – I Timothy 5:8 (amp); If anyone fails to provide for his own, and especially for those of his own family, he has denied the faith [by disregarding its precepts] and is worse than an unbeliever [who fulfills his obligation in these matters].

4. A man has to be mature sexually – He has to know that sex is meant for marriage  – for his one wife only – I Corinthians 7:2 (amp);But because of [the temptation to participate in] sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.

5. A man has to be mature in his character – his morals, ethics, and social behavior has to be in line with the word of God.

6. A man has to be mature biblically – studying & putting into practice the word of God has to be a part of his daily life.

Of course this is a very simplified version but this will definitely get you started.  You still have to sit down with God to get more details for exact application.  And don’t forget as you raise the standards of those around you, you must first live these standards out in your own life!  Because don’t forget – you are what you attract!

So what’s the difference between a male and a man?  The answer is simple – God  & maturity!