Six Habits of Spiritually Happy Men
I've been meeting with men for over three decades. Many of those men exude a contagious joy and contentment. Their lives are peaceable, orderly, and recommend Christ. They’re downright happy!
Most of these happy men exercise six spiritual habits that keep them "abiding in Christ." These six habits are not litmus tests that you can use to judge a man’s walk with Christ. That would be extremely dangerous. These habits do nothing to improve a man’s record with Jesus. They are, however, indicators or “clues” of a deeper commitment to live by faith and make a difference in the world.
Habit #1: Spiritually happy men read the Bible regularly.
They love God's word, and want to regularly read and meditate on the Bible. I've never known a single man whose life has changed in any significant way apart from the regular study of God's Word.
Habit #2: Spiritually happy men pray with their wives.
Praying with your wife symbolizes a depth of relationship with God and each other. Shaun from Bozeman, Montana asked his men’s group, "How many of you pray with your wives?" Only one of the eight men answered, "Yes." For the last year they have been holding each other accountable. Here’s what Shaun has to say….
The benefits when we are obedient in this area are amazing. Here are some comments from the men when they pray with their wives on a consistent basis:
-I feel a closeness to my wife that wasn't there before
-Communication between us is better
-The petty things are just not a big deal anymore
Habit #3: Spiritually happy men are in a small group.
Consultant Pat MacMillan surveyed over 2,500 Promise Keepers who had kept their promises. He asked them, "Who helped you keep them?" The two overwhelming answers given were, "My wife" and "My church-based small group." Focus on getting men into small groups.
Spiritually happy men are personally vulnerable and seek to be held accountable by other men. This group might be with a few men, or only one other man. It might meet for Bible study, discussion, fellowship, prayer, accountability, or a combination.
Habit #4: Spiritually happy men are active in a church.
Active church involvement is the overflow of a deeper work that Christ is doing in a man’s heart. "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25).
If you are not in a church, find one. If you are not active in your church, set an appointment with your pastor and say, "Give me an assignment…I’m ready." He will know what to do next.
Habit #5: Spiritually happy men tithe.
Generosity is a highly underrated source of happiness. I’ve never known a man who tithed who was not happy. On the other hand, I’ve known a lot of guys who have not tithed and were miserable.
Someone may argue that tithing is not New Testament. I agree that the New Testament concept is proportionate giving: "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income" (1 Corinthians 16:2). But wait! The Old Testament also says give in proportion: "Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you” (Deuteronomy 16:17). Both Old and New Testament suggest proportionate giving!
So what is the “benchmark” for proportionate giving? What does the New Testament say? In Matthew 23:23 Jesus said, “For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things.” Tithing is our benchmark and, by the way, it’s the minimum—but I wouldn’t push that too far.
Habit #6: Spiritually happy men are serving the Lord.
Personally, I would rather die for a worthy cause than live for no reason. And I think most men feel the same way.
Once a man has been in the real presence of Jesus, he will never be happy until he finds a way to express his gratitude through love and good deeds. Brother Lawrence put it this way, "I tell you that this sweet and loving gaze of God insensibly kindles a divine fire in the soul which is set ablaze so ardently with the love of God that one is obliged to perform exterior acts to moderate it."
Business leader, author, and speaker, Patrick Morley helps men to think more deeply about their lives, to be reconciled with Christ, and to be equipped for a larger impact on the world. Visit his Web site, http://www.maninthemirror.org/
Most of these happy men exercise six spiritual habits that keep them "abiding in Christ." These six habits are not litmus tests that you can use to judge a man’s walk with Christ. That would be extremely dangerous. These habits do nothing to improve a man’s record with Jesus. They are, however, indicators or “clues” of a deeper commitment to live by faith and make a difference in the world.
Habit #1: Spiritually happy men read the Bible regularly.
They love God's word, and want to regularly read and meditate on the Bible. I've never known a single man whose life has changed in any significant way apart from the regular study of God's Word.
Habit #2: Spiritually happy men pray with their wives.
Praying with your wife symbolizes a depth of relationship with God and each other. Shaun from Bozeman, Montana asked his men’s group, "How many of you pray with your wives?" Only one of the eight men answered, "Yes." For the last year they have been holding each other accountable. Here’s what Shaun has to say….
The benefits when we are obedient in this area are amazing. Here are some comments from the men when they pray with their wives on a consistent basis:
-I feel a closeness to my wife that wasn't there before
-Communication between us is better
-The petty things are just not a big deal anymore
Habit #3: Spiritually happy men are in a small group.
Consultant Pat MacMillan surveyed over 2,500 Promise Keepers who had kept their promises. He asked them, "Who helped you keep them?" The two overwhelming answers given were, "My wife" and "My church-based small group." Focus on getting men into small groups.
Spiritually happy men are personally vulnerable and seek to be held accountable by other men. This group might be with a few men, or only one other man. It might meet for Bible study, discussion, fellowship, prayer, accountability, or a combination.
Habit #4: Spiritually happy men are active in a church.
Active church involvement is the overflow of a deeper work that Christ is doing in a man’s heart. "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25).
If you are not in a church, find one. If you are not active in your church, set an appointment with your pastor and say, "Give me an assignment…I’m ready." He will know what to do next.
Habit #5: Spiritually happy men tithe.
Generosity is a highly underrated source of happiness. I’ve never known a man who tithed who was not happy. On the other hand, I’ve known a lot of guys who have not tithed and were miserable.
Someone may argue that tithing is not New Testament. I agree that the New Testament concept is proportionate giving: "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income" (1 Corinthians 16:2). But wait! The Old Testament also says give in proportion: "Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you” (Deuteronomy 16:17). Both Old and New Testament suggest proportionate giving!
So what is the “benchmark” for proportionate giving? What does the New Testament say? In Matthew 23:23 Jesus said, “For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things.” Tithing is our benchmark and, by the way, it’s the minimum—but I wouldn’t push that too far.
Habit #6: Spiritually happy men are serving the Lord.
Personally, I would rather die for a worthy cause than live for no reason. And I think most men feel the same way.
Once a man has been in the real presence of Jesus, he will never be happy until he finds a way to express his gratitude through love and good deeds. Brother Lawrence put it this way, "I tell you that this sweet and loving gaze of God insensibly kindles a divine fire in the soul which is set ablaze so ardently with the love of God that one is obliged to perform exterior acts to moderate it."
Business leader, author, and speaker, Patrick Morley helps men to think more deeply about their lives, to be reconciled with Christ, and to be equipped for a larger impact on the world. Visit his Web site, http://www.maninthemirror.org/
posted by Drew Dyck at 10:38 AM
4 Comments:
I whole heartedly agree with everything in this article - except for the gross mistranslation of Jesus' words on tithing. Not one respectable translation of the bible says anything close to what was quoted in this article. Why not use any respectable translation? Because it would not support the argument. Jesus was talking about herbs and spices, not money. Tithing is an old testament practice involving crops and live stock. It has absolutely nothing to do with New Testament giving. John McArthur is one of the few Christian leaders to teach the truth about this subject. But don't trust him, look it up your self, I dare you.
BTW, I give approximately 10 percent of my income to my local church - some times more some times less. I firmly believe that if we preached the TRUTH our churches would receive more money to do God's work, not less. We do not lie to people and tell them that Sunday is the Sabbath in order to get them to go to church. We teach them what the New Testament actually teaches, and we teach them what the Sabbath actually is (a picture of Christ, and it fell on Saturday). Anyway, It amazes me that every time a church teaches tithing they use perverted translations or don't even bother to quote actual scripture.
Amen,Randy!
The new testament does teach tithing. It's not just about giving 10%, it is also about what we do with the remainder 90%. Do view the money we earn as "our Money" or God's money? Do we own it, or are we the stewards, or managers of it? It is a matter of perspective. If we see it as God's we will have a whole new perspective.
The new testament does teach tithing. It's not just about giving 10%, it is also about what we do with the remainder 90%. Do view the money we earn as "our Money" or God's money? Do we own it, or are we the stewards, or managers of it? It is a matter of perspective. If we see it as God's we will have a whole new perspective.
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