WHAT IS A MAN?

Greetings from the land where...according to the Three Stooges... MEN are MEN...and the WO-MEN are glad of it. Woo, Woo, Woo...me, me, me...sointanly. Some would say that if you look up the word man in the dictionary..you would find a picture of John Wayne...or at the very least Clint Eastwood.

Webster's Dictionary defines man as: (1) a human being; person; specifically-- (a) a primate having an erect stance, an apposable thumb, the ability to make and use specialized tool, articulate speech, and a highly developed brain with the faculty of abstract thought: the only living species of a worldwide family (b) any member of several extinct species of this family, as Neanderthal man. (2) the human race; mankind (3) an adult male human being (4) a husband or lover (5) A person with qualities conventionally regarded as MANLY such as strength, courage, etc. (6) An adult male, sometimes a boy (6) Synonym: see The RuMANator/Rodney Boyd.

In I Thessalonians 5:23...we see that man seems to be comprised of:

(a) spirit [pneuma-breath] (b) soul [psyche-mind, volition, emotions]
(c) body [soma-flesh, blood, bones, etc.]

Ben Kinchlow writes on the back of Ed Cole's book...MAXIMIZED MANHOOD..."Being a MALE is a matter of birth. Being a MAN is a matter of choice." NOTE: There are a lot of 21 + males...who have not yet chosen to be a MAN. Chronologically they may be categorized as MAN...but emotionally, spiritually...they are little babies.

Everyone has their own concept of what a man is and what a man is not. The picture with this Rambling use to be found on the back pages of comic books to entice skinny, scrawny little boys (like I use to be)...to become a MAN...by bulking up their muscles. This was before the phrase "six pack" was coined in reference to rippling abs. Now instead of a 6 pack we either have...or are working on a "KEG". Instead of a HUNK... we become CHUNKS...like a chunk of coal...with a diamond forming under pressure. WHAT IS A MAN?

Hollywood...would have us believe...that a man is a good looking, rugged, suave, debonier, cigarette smoking, lady-killing man in the form of John Wayne...Humphrey Bogart...Clark Gable...Gary Cooper...or now days...George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Johnny Deep, etc. Here are a few concepts of what a man is that I gleaned from the MAN IN THE STREET. These are someone's opinion...and does not reflect the writer of this Rambling.

POLL OF MEN/MALES AT MY WORK

NOTE: This poll may be skewed by boys trying to be funny...but some...are sincere.

1. "You ain't a man...until you had a woman."
2. "When you can hold you liquor."
3. "What do you say to a woman with two black eyes? Nothing...you
already told her twice."
4. "When you are financially secure..and can support your woman."
5. "When you have fathered a child."
6. "When you have your situation at home under control."
7. "When the woman...submits to me."
8. "It's based on the size of your physical anatomy."
9. "When you can please a women...then you are a man."
10. "When you treat a woman like a queen."

There are all kinds of reasons that males think they are men.

YOU MAY THINK YOU'RE A MAN IF:

You go to Hooters and you think that the waitress is really interested in you instead of a tip. NOTE: They don't show cleavage and smile and laugh at your inane leering jokes...because the like you.

You call a 900 number...and the voice on the other end tells you things you want to here. NOTE: 1-900-Give Me Your Money

You go out and get drunk with the boys. NOTE: women and children can get drunk just like a man. Stupidity is not limited to gender or chronological age.

You can hold your liquor...or maybe how long you can drink without liver damage. NOTE: Otis the drunk on Andy Griffith is funny...real life drunks are not. Drunks are funny until they start beating a woman...or abusing verbally and emotionally. NOTE to the NOTE: Some men like to use intimidation to get people to sumbit, back down...or place them under control.

If you can father a child. Funny how fathering is downgraded as the act of reproduction. NOTE: A boy...coming of age can send sperm down for egg contact.

If you take a Biblical Principle like a wife submitting to her husband...and rationalize that as the reason you run your home with an iron fist. NOTE: You conveniently look over the command in the same passage for you to love your wife like CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH. Christ...laid out his arms and allowed nails to be driven through His hands. Are you arms stretched out for your wife? Have you died to yourself...so you can live for Him...by loving her?

If you make lots and lots of money. NOTE: Money can't buy happiness...but it can make misery and lonliness comfortable.

If you are really smart with lots of degrees. NOTE: You can go to your college and go to your school...but if you don't know Jesus...you're and educated fool. (Demonination Blues)

If you look at pornography and appreciated the beauty of the naked body.
NOTE: Preteens can log on to a porn site and lust just as good as MAN.

NOTE to the NOTE: I have heard men say...that if God did not want me to look and lust after women...then He would not have created me this way. I'm just doing what comes naturally. Question: Does that same logic go for beastiality, pedophiles...serial killers? If I am angry...and I murder you...can I say...Well if God did not want me to get angry and kill someone...then He would not have created me with a temper?

THE BIBLICAL PATTERN OF A MAN

"Then God said, 'Let us make MAN in OUR image, according to OUR likeness; let THEM have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created MAN in His OWN image; in the image of GOD He created him; MALE and FEMALE He created THEM." (Genesis 1:27,28) NOTE: This image...was from the IMAGination of God.

"And the Lord God formed a MAN of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life (1st CPR) and MAN became a LIVING BEING/SOUL." (Genesis 2:7)

"...But for Adam there was not found a HELPER comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from MAN he made into a WOMAN, and He brought her to MAN. And Adam said, 'This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called WOMAN because she was taken out of MAN. Therefore a MAN shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his WIFE, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the MAN and his WIFE, and were not ashamed." (Genesis 2:20-25)

If we believe the Biblical account of the ROOTS of MAN...then we see that man/woman is a created being...with the original jump start of life being the rushing wind of the breath of God inflating our lungs. We see that we were created in His image out of lumps of formed dust/clay. We see that woman was comparable to MAN...and was a HELP not a hindrance...and we see that BOTH of them were given dominion over creation.

If you don't believe the Biblical account...then we were part of a cosmic accident...a product of the BIG BANG...from goo to you by way of the zoo...and that the dynamic difference between man and woman and animal is probably an evolutionary roll of the dice. I don't know what takes more faith...believing in God as a Creator...or look around you and explaine it by a THEORY of evolution. Hmmmmmmm...big band...slime in the ocean...crawl up on shore...sprout arms and legs...climb up into a tree...hang by the tail...tail falls off...fall to ground...stand up erect...walk around...sprout bosoms or male anatomy...have sex...BAM...man and woman.

Soooooooooo....what is a man...are you a man....ladies do you have a man. I'm curious...what is your definition of a MAN.

Love and Manly Kisses
Rod "Man By Choice" Boyd