One has to wonder what happened to the lost way of the gentleman. Has it been diluted by the extreme feminist movement? Do women no longer want to be treated with respect or high-esteem? Do they view it as belittling to have doors opened and chairs pulled out for them? Could it be that men have reduced women down to objects of their own pleasure ranking them with the likes of an XBOX, car, or trophy? Is it possible that nowadays ladies like this kind of treatment? How about a combination? All of the above. Not only have men forgotten how to treat women, women have forgotten how they should be treated. Are you ready? Hold on, because down the slopes we go.
(Disclaimer: I'm not writing to argue. If you don't care about my opinions you have an open invitation to stop reading. I won't be offended; I promise.)
Recently, my wife has drawn my attention to this lack of the Gentlemen breed. (They have become a rare breed indeed.) Of course, it wasn't hard to notice it myself as the door going into Cheddars almost gave my wife's nose an uninvited reconstructive surgery. Can you believe this guy? I had already opened the first door. The "not so gentleman" was in front of us at the second door. We both falsely assumed that he would hold the door open. We were wrong and my wife's face almost paid the price.
We see this all too often. When expectations are lowered people will stoop to meet them. When they are raised most people will try to rise to the occasion. Why someone would settle in a relationship is beyond me. I mean this is the rest of your life you are talking about here, unless, of course, marriage and commitment are just disposable commodities like toilet paper. (Which is a whole other topic for a different day.)
The resolution? Perhaps a total paradigm shift in our thinking is in order. If you are a man, realize that just because you may act like a barnyard animal does not give you the freedom to treat others like they are just another pig in the pen. Have dignity. Have respect. Do not reduce women to objects but realize that like you, they are created by a Divine Creator; beautifully woven together as the spoken word of God. (God spoke us into existence. If you don't believe me, try and prove God wrong. The best you'll get is monkeys, bananas and evolution.) If you are a lady, don't settle for the barn yard animals. I know gentlemen are hard to come by these days but they do exist. Wait for him to sweep you off of your feet with chivalry that would make even the Knights of old look wimpy. Until that happens don't fall for the pigs, chickens or asses (that means donkeys for those who haven't read the KJV.) Pun intended? You decide.
That can't be all though and it certainly is not. We were created to love and fear God. If we don't have this relationship in order trying to cram the other square pegs into round holes won't work either. If you use excessive force you'll only damage the pegs or the board. Either way, it isn't pretty. Besides, there is an easier way of life and relationship. Jesus. Yet, you can't just try him on like a garment in a fitting room than discard him if you feel like he makes your butt look big. Sorry, Jesus is not Burger King; you really can't have it your way. I realize that it is easier to serve a genie in a Bible than to crucify our selves daily but reducing God to an ATM machine is horribly mistaken. The point of this rant is this, we can’t honestly expect fruitful relationships if we don’t first know the love that comes from a relationship with God. His love is a sacrificial, unconditional love.
Ephesians 5:22 “Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” (“Submit” meaning support. Check the Greek context.)
Ephesians 5:25-27 “25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.”
How can either of these biblical mandates happen if the parties involved do not know the love of Christ? They can’t. They won’t.
To conclude this madness I will offer my very own commitment to permanently ending the ways of the pig like man in me. It will be a struggle for sure; living selflessly always is. But a true gentleman is one that understands selfless love. Does Jesus deserve it? Absolutely! Does my wife deserve it? No question, and I will be the man (ahem) the gentleman to prove it!
(Disclaimer: I'm not writing to argue. If you don't care about my opinions you have an open invitation to stop reading. I won't be offended; I promise.)
Recently, my wife has drawn my attention to this lack of the Gentlemen breed. (They have become a rare breed indeed.) Of course, it wasn't hard to notice it myself as the door going into Cheddars almost gave my wife's nose an uninvited reconstructive surgery. Can you believe this guy? I had already opened the first door. The "not so gentleman" was in front of us at the second door. We both falsely assumed that he would hold the door open. We were wrong and my wife's face almost paid the price.
We see this all too often. When expectations are lowered people will stoop to meet them. When they are raised most people will try to rise to the occasion. Why someone would settle in a relationship is beyond me. I mean this is the rest of your life you are talking about here, unless, of course, marriage and commitment are just disposable commodities like toilet paper. (Which is a whole other topic for a different day.)
The resolution? Perhaps a total paradigm shift in our thinking is in order. If you are a man, realize that just because you may act like a barnyard animal does not give you the freedom to treat others like they are just another pig in the pen. Have dignity. Have respect. Do not reduce women to objects but realize that like you, they are created by a Divine Creator; beautifully woven together as the spoken word of God. (God spoke us into existence. If you don't believe me, try and prove God wrong. The best you'll get is monkeys, bananas and evolution.) If you are a lady, don't settle for the barn yard animals. I know gentlemen are hard to come by these days but they do exist. Wait for him to sweep you off of your feet with chivalry that would make even the Knights of old look wimpy. Until that happens don't fall for the pigs, chickens or asses (that means donkeys for those who haven't read the KJV.) Pun intended? You decide.
That can't be all though and it certainly is not. We were created to love and fear God. If we don't have this relationship in order trying to cram the other square pegs into round holes won't work either. If you use excessive force you'll only damage the pegs or the board. Either way, it isn't pretty. Besides, there is an easier way of life and relationship. Jesus. Yet, you can't just try him on like a garment in a fitting room than discard him if you feel like he makes your butt look big. Sorry, Jesus is not Burger King; you really can't have it your way. I realize that it is easier to serve a genie in a Bible than to crucify our selves daily but reducing God to an ATM machine is horribly mistaken. The point of this rant is this, we can’t honestly expect fruitful relationships if we don’t first know the love that comes from a relationship with God. His love is a sacrificial, unconditional love.
Ephesians 5:22 “Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” (“Submit” meaning support. Check the Greek context.)
Ephesians 5:25-27 “25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.”
How can either of these biblical mandates happen if the parties involved do not know the love of Christ? They can’t. They won’t.
To conclude this madness I will offer my very own commitment to permanently ending the ways of the pig like man in me. It will be a struggle for sure; living selflessly always is. But a true gentleman is one that understands selfless love. Does Jesus deserve it? Absolutely! Does my wife deserve it? No question, and I will be the man (ahem) the gentleman to prove it!
I'll begin by painting my masterpiece on the canvas of silence that this blog has become. I've witnessed the life of two seasons since my last post. Spring gave birth to Summer and Summer has waned to Fall. I don't mind the apple cider and pumpkin pie; it's the turkey I'm holding out for. Seasons change with warning. I enjoyed the way the fall air reminded me this morning to wear a coat. I didn't listen.
We are no strangers to change; it happens. When I was in the Spring season of my life I had a favorite pair of Superman underwear. In my mind, dawning the brightly colored undergarments meant that I had truly become the man of steel. My imagination has seen it's winter since then and it's unfortunate. As with all things, even my underwear needed changing; I didn't like it. I didn't know enough to care about hygiene. The fallacy of my "underroos" became obvious when I refused to change them; I got spanked and it hurt! The power of Superman is no match for the power of Mom!
I do sense change in my own heart and I'm not threatened by it. Change is sometimes necessary to bring life again. If we never experienced the cease of Winter how could we know Spring? My heart and mind remain open to Gods conducting. He orchestrates the seasons and so He orchestrates my life.
We are no strangers to change; it happens. When I was in the Spring season of my life I had a favorite pair of Superman underwear. In my mind, dawning the brightly colored undergarments meant that I had truly become the man of steel. My imagination has seen it's winter since then and it's unfortunate. As with all things, even my underwear needed changing; I didn't like it. I didn't know enough to care about hygiene. The fallacy of my "underroos" became obvious when I refused to change them; I got spanked and it hurt! The power of Superman is no match for the power of Mom!
I do sense change in my own heart and I'm not threatened by it. Change is sometimes necessary to bring life again. If we never experienced the cease of Winter how could we know Spring? My heart and mind remain open to Gods conducting. He orchestrates the seasons and so He orchestrates my life.
Steak is my favorite protein. I like it cooked medium rare smothered in sauteed onions and mushrooms; simply delicious. Put it all next to some mashed potatoes and green beans and you've got a great meal. A great steak starts with great seasoning and marinade. It's interesting how it works but the meat absorbs the flavors of each seasoning you put on it. What you put in comes out and the longer you allow the meat to marinade the more flavor you'll get.
Welcome to the Cosby Cooking Channel! Today we will be cooking New York Strip Steaks. On one of the steaks you place some salt, pepper, steak rub, and a little minced garlic. You place the steak in the bag and pour some marinade sauce of your choosing into the bag. Sound good yet?
It's time to prepare the other steak. We won't use any good seasonings or sauces to marinade this steak in. Instead we will use whatever we can find in the garbage can. Let's dig in and see what we can find; leftover spaghetti, half drunk Starbucks Frap, a dirty disinfectant cloth, a tenth of a bottle of Sprite, some pieces of paper and last weeks chili! Alright so we've got all our garbage to place in the bag with the steak. You'll need to let them sit for a few hours for the flavors to absorb into the meat. Fortunately, I've already done this before the show today so you won't have to wait to see the results.
Ok, our grill is fired up and ready to go. Let's pull our "good" steak out of the marinade bag and place it on the grill (sizzle, smoke). MMmmmm...yea that smells great! We'll just let that cook for a few minutes before we flip it. Ok, steak one is done! Doesn't that look fantastic? Alright, steak two going on the grill (sizzle, smoke) ughh...cough This steak doesn't even smell good. There is no way that it will taste good...Well folks there you have it. If you put garbage in you'll get garbage out! And now this steak is going into the trash. Thanks for tuning into the Cosby Cooking Channel I'll see ya next year "same Cosby time, same Cosby Channel."
We marinade our lives; what seasonings and sauces we us is up to us. Know that whatever you absorb will eventually come out. If you listen to, watch, read, think, and eat garbage you will being to smell like garbage. You will begin talk trash, think trashy thoughts, believe garbage truth, smell like garbage, look like garbage and live like garbage.
The challenge today; marinade yourself in Jesus! Bask in His Holy Presence. Absorb His filling word and believe His wholesome truth.
Welcome to the Cosby Cooking Channel! Today we will be cooking New York Strip Steaks. On one of the steaks you place some salt, pepper, steak rub, and a little minced garlic. You place the steak in the bag and pour some marinade sauce of your choosing into the bag. Sound good yet?
It's time to prepare the other steak. We won't use any good seasonings or sauces to marinade this steak in. Instead we will use whatever we can find in the garbage can. Let's dig in and see what we can find; leftover spaghetti, half drunk Starbucks Frap, a dirty disinfectant cloth, a tenth of a bottle of Sprite, some pieces of paper and last weeks chili! Alright so we've got all our garbage to place in the bag with the steak. You'll need to let them sit for a few hours for the flavors to absorb into the meat. Fortunately, I've already done this before the show today so you won't have to wait to see the results.
Ok, our grill is fired up and ready to go. Let's pull our "good" steak out of the marinade bag and place it on the grill (sizzle, smoke). MMmmmm...yea that smells great! We'll just let that cook for a few minutes before we flip it. Ok, steak one is done! Doesn't that look fantastic? Alright, steak two going on the grill (sizzle, smoke) ughh...cough This steak doesn't even smell good. There is no way that it will taste good...Well folks there you have it. If you put garbage in you'll get garbage out! And now this steak is going into the trash. Thanks for tuning into the Cosby Cooking Channel I'll see ya next year "same Cosby time, same Cosby Channel."
We marinade our lives; what seasonings and sauces we us is up to us. Know that whatever you absorb will eventually come out. If you listen to, watch, read, think, and eat garbage you will being to smell like garbage. You will begin talk trash, think trashy thoughts, believe garbage truth, smell like garbage, look like garbage and live like garbage.
The challenge today; marinade yourself in Jesus! Bask in His Holy Presence. Absorb His filling word and believe His wholesome truth.
