Walk Like A Man, Talk Like A Man
Every once in while, I try to find
an "oldies" station as MariAnne and I are driving down the road. I
especially like it when a classic sixties song like the Four Season's
"Walk like a Man" begins to play. I pull out my rusty falsetto voice
and begin to belt out in a high pitch voice "Oooo ooo oooo ooo ooo."
MariAnne always looks over at me, smiles and says "You might be just a bit
out of your range." Which in my
world translates "Keep singing honey, I am lovin' it."
What
is particularly humorous about the song "Walk like a Man" is that no
one sounds like they are walking or talking like a man. Most of the vocals are
in the oxygen-less upper atmosphere such that you have to be a soprano in order
to sing along. I will attach the link to an old video of the song here for your
amusement (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpl_jPxSuFg). If you watched it, do you notice that no one
seems particularly concerned about either walking or talking in a
"manly" fashion?
One
of the best practical application sections for the Christian life found in the
Bible is in the last few chapters of the apostle Paul's letter to the
Ephesians. You could sum it up this way: "Walk like THE man. Talk like THE
Man."
The fourth chapter begins with this exhortation: "I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of your calling."[1]
Later in the same chapter, the apostle writes "Now, this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk
as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds."[2] Why
are they not to walk the way that they once did? Why ought they to
"walk" in a new manner? Paul explains the reason for the change in
the way that they live this way: "But
that is not the way you learned Christ! - assuming that you have heard about
him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus...".[3]
In other words, it is because of Jesus. Jesus has taught us the right way to
walk. We are to walk like THE man, the perfect Man, Jesus Christ.
I
really do urge you to read Ephesians and in particular chapters four through
six. What I encourage you to notice is how much Paul teaches about the way that
Christians are to talk. A great deal of the Christian walk has to do
with how we talk to one another. Words are powerful. They do much good and they
can inflict great harm. Paul is exhorting us: "Walk like THE man! Talk
like THE man!"
An
interesting way to think about the way that we talk to each other is to pick up
on one of Paul's key themes in Ephesians. Paul views Christians as a living
"temple". God isn't building a temple made of gold and glass and
marble. God is making a temple which lives and moves. The temple is made of
people who have been purchased by the blood of His Son, set apart as holy and
dedicated to God, and are now being filled with the glory of God's presence and
power by the Spirit. In Ephesians 2, Paul puts it this way: "So then you are no longer strangers and
aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the
household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ
Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure being joined
together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him, you also are
being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."
In
my next blog post, I want to dive into this a bit deeper. How we talk as
Christians is huge! Let me just challenge you this way. When you are together with
other Christians or even one other Christian, do you think about the fact that
you are in "the temple
of God?" When we
were in England
this past summer, we were in some stunningly beautiful cathedrals. No one ran
through them shouting obscenities or carelessly hooting or hollering. There was
an expected code of conduct and it was universally understood and applied.
There were often people standing at the doorways reminding us that we were
welcome but this was a place of worship. We were to show reverence and respect.
Now,
I like to hoot and holler and there is a time and place for such things. (The
NFL season is starting.) However, in Christ, every conversation as Christians
and between Christians is in the temple and as
the temple of God. Whether you are a parent addressing
your child or a teen responding to your parents, you are dedicated to God and
are to be a people fit for the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Every
conversation in marriage is holy. So, we have some learning to do. Listen then,
as the apostle Paul writes these words to the Ephesians: "Let no corrupting talk come out of your
mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it
may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by
whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."[4]
Being
a Christian and growing into maturity involves learning how to walk like THE
man and talk like THE man. For Jesus, every conversation was a holy moment to
honour God and to bless the people of God. Just think what the world would be
like if we all did this.
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