Why do so many men run from their role? The challenging biblical truth

Transcript

Transcript adapted for reading. Biblical quotations reproduce the wording used in the video.

Hello, today I want to talk to you about a subject that touches me deeply.

I am going to talk about fathers, husbands and the role of men.

I am not speaking as an expert, but as a man who has fallen and made many mistakes.

I am one of those men who ran from their responsibilities, not for lack of love,

but above all out of pride, selfishness, the pull of the world and the seduction it offers us.

I thought I was looking for freedom, but in reality I was running from my responsibilities.

There is a verse in the Bible that touched me deeply: “Pride comes before ruin, and arrogance before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18.

The world made me believe I was strong, but in fact I was running away, leaving and taking no responsibility.

I thought I was free, but I was a slave.

To understand the role of a father and husband, and of men in general, I looked to God.

God is now like a father to me. He is not an absent, silent or evasive father.

There is a beautiful verse, Psalm 68:6: God is the father of orphans.

When I lost my way, God stayed with me, despite all my mistakes and all the sins I committed.

He remained there, waiting for me to return to him.

As in the parable of the prodigal son, the father waits and looks into the distance, but never closes his doors.

Yet I closed the door to God. I ignored him for many years.

As a teenager, I prayed every evening, and unfortunately that faded when I became an adult.

But God stayed with me, even when I completely ignored him.

Reading the Bible helped me understand the role of men. A man is not a ruler over others, but rather a guardian.

The first sin of man was failing to intervene. Like Adam:

God told Adam not to eat the apple, and he did not stop his wife, even though she was beside him.

The husband's role is simple: “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church.” Ephesians 5:25.

Jesus Christ did not leave when the Church was imperfect. He did not flee when it hurt, but gave his life.

Loving like Jesus is not dominating or demanding, but sacrificing yourself and above all loving your neighbour as yourself.

In marriage, I wanted the benefits without the cross, without carrying the responsibilities.

The world lied to me, and I let myself be deceived by the world around us.

What does the world tell us? Fulfil yourself; do not sacrifice yourself.

There is a verse in the Bible that says a great deal: “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it.” Matthew 16:25.

What the world calls freedom, God calls running away. I understood that when I ran from my family.

God did not reject me. He simply corrected me, as parents correct their children when they do wrong.

As Hebrews 12:6 says: the Lord corrects those he loves.

Correction is not punishment; it is a sign of love.

If we do not correct our children, they will keep making the same mistakes and doing worse and worse things.

Everyone knows that; it is true. God showed me very clearly that running from my family meant running from myself.

We do not need to be perfect. We just need to be ourselves and have a pure heart.

As in Psalm 51, where David asks God: “O God, create in me a pure heart.”

Today I am speaking to men, fathers, husbands and future fathers.

You are not disqualified because you have fallen. You are only disqualified if you refuse to get up, to admit your faults and your sins.

One day your children will talk about you. The question is simple: will they speak of a man who was present, or a man who was not there, who left?

Through baptism, God freed me from all my addictions.

Now I am a witness to all his goodness, all his power and everything he is to me as a father.

God restores men. He restores fathers and families.

If you want to become a true man, it takes humility, repentance, responsibility and above all love.

Set an example for your children and do the best you can.

May God care for all of us with love.

Thank you, Lord, for everything you have already done for us men.

Thank you for everything you will still do for us.

Think of all the families on the brink of separation.

Bring them together. May they be strong again, strong in you, Lord. Thank you, in the name of

Jesus. Amen.