God's Design for MenSample

Fighting Men

Martin Luther King Jr. is a man revered for fighting against injustice. He was far from perfect, but his dedication to freedom and equality, especially in the face of danger that would ultimately cost him his life, inspires anyone who needs a boost of courage.

We know in our bones that some things in this world simply aren’t right. There is evil that persists, racism that destroys, poverty that cripples, oppression that holds on, and wrongs that should not exist.

Issues like this touch a man’s God-given sense of justice—the desire to make right what is wrong.

In today’s passage, the prophet Micah gives a brief snapshot of what God requires of men: “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8 ESV).

The “do justice” part can be challenging; what do we do, and how do we do it?

It starts with realizing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not simply a good-news ejection seat from a lost and sinful world, based on the hope of a better eternal life someday later.

The Gospel includes a future paradise, of course, but it also imagines a world where, since Christ arrived, the Kingdom of Heaven has already started infiltrating the earth (Matthew 4:17).

Wherever that Kingdom spreads, the Good News also spreads: people are saved, delivered, and set free!

But the justice of the Kingdom also spreads, making right what is wrong, and men are called to spread this justice everywhere they go.

Jesus, the perfect Man, was concerned for the lost, the outcast, the poor, the helpless, the cast out. Where sin had done its damage, Jesus sought to undo it, in part, with how He treated people. In His care for those in need, Jesus brought God’s justice everywhere He went, and in His confrontations with unjust leaders, He pushed back injustice as He fought for people and against corruption.

Men are at their best when they are fighting. But it’s not about two guys duking it out, trying to hurt one another. That’s the opposite of good. Men were wired to fight, but to fight for justice, finding a cause or person or people to advocate for, seeking to create a better world based on God’s goodness.

God’s design for men is that we would fight, not against people, but against injustice, wherever and however it rears its ugly head.

Prayer: Father, I know that much is still broken in this world, and I want to be a man who fights for what is right. Use me to stand for righteousness and to resist injustice wherever I see it. Help me be a man who knows how to stand up for good and fix what is wrong. Amen.

Reflection: Looking around your neighborhood or community, what is an area of injustice you notice? What might be done to begin doing something about it?