|Values of God's Gentlemen|

By Andrey Kuropatko

What drives men today? What makes them get up today or tomorrow and go on their daily endeavors? Think of modern society… What is the innermost thought on most men’s mind? What distinguishes boys from men today? These questions may be some of the deepest fears or most vociferous statements among middle aged or older generations; in a way fearing for the future of our country, our daughters, our Christian congregations and etc. However, if one is to take a look in our Bible, we have the answers to what a man is. Since seeking God and waiting on Him is the primary responsibility of growth into manhood, as well as having the values of a leader, and Character of God in developing a family mindset. The following is a shall for what a godly man is; a guide to women looking for a man of God, and for a man to develop himself into a God’s Gentlemen.

Our first look at God’s intent in creating mankind is taken from Genesis 1:26-30. “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

So God created mankind in His own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.  And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.”. 

The likeness of God corresponds with His character, traits, His Knowledge and Wisdom, as well as similarities of His being. Thus, we are to imitate God, in order to fulfill our Father’s objective; to be His children while walking in the authority given us to dominate the world. Jesus said that He only does what He has seen His Father do, consequently showing us an example in imitating our Father. God has placed all the essential elements of character and values into us from the beginning. Albeit, even though we have it in us, we do not have the experience to use it. One needs to have the discipline to establish the pattern of character and the habit of practicing a lifestyle. Many years ago someone has said to me “One action leads to a habit, while a habit leads to a character”. Thus the belief that in order to break necessary patterns and habits of character, discipline sets new routines and wonts. 

Apart from discipline, a man is to be loyal. Deuteronomy 7:9 states “Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments”. In imitating our Father, we are to be Loyal as He is, primarily been Loyal to Him and His Kingdom. Correspondingly, lovingkindness is an attribute with Gods faithfulness, as well as His faithfulness. Thus, Discipline of Loyalty, leads to love, kindness and faithfulness regardless of what goes on in culture, which attribute of the world stands out as “in”. 

A man of God is a prince in the Kingdom, and as a prince, he is a leader. True Leaders do not conform to tidal thoughts but swim against the current, and in principle stand like a rock. John F. Kennedy ones said, “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth”. 

The Bible says “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will” Romans 12:2. 

So God’s Gentlemen bears true faith and allegiance to God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Kingdom, and other Christians

Duty is the following attribute of Godly values. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:5. 

The shall is the command, thus it becomes duty. Duty to God first; to mankind next; “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8. Likewise, the duty to your home, the congregation and the church, which is the body of Christ and is spelled out in 1 Chronicles 23:28 "The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron's descendants in the service of the temple of the LORD: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God." 

Thus the value, God’s Gentlemen fulfills all his obligations in the Kingdom, Church, family (whether immediate, future or extended) and to mankind. Likewise, accepts responsibility for his own actions and those entrusted to his care. And finally finds opportunities to improve oneself for the good of the Kingdom and his family.

Out of duty to God and Mankind, flows Respect; 

“Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” Mathew 7:12. 

“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” Philippians 2:3. 

The last verse also denotes humility, meekness and tenderheartedness. Also consider Titus 2:7 - "In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine [shewing] incorruptness, gravity, sincerity."

A good way to remember respect, is how we consider others or the Kingdom will always reflect upon each of us, both personally and as a citizenship of the Kingdom.

Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Philippians 2:4 

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath  forgiven you." Ephesians 4:29-32 

These are some of the verses which speak Selfless Service, the strongest in a manner of command. Jesus displayed the greatest example of Selfless Service, by sacrificing Himself for His fathers will, and our own sake. Thus, we are to put the welfare of the Kingdom, the Church, and your family before your own. In serving God, a man is doing his duty loyally without thought of recognition or gain. The basic building block of selfless service is the commitment for men to go a little further, endure a little longer, and look a little closer to see how he can add to the effort of the Kingdom. Selfless service leads to congregational teamwork and encompasses discipline, self-control and faith in God and in the Bible.

In addition to Loyalty, Duty, Respect and Selfless service, Honor is the mortar between the said values and the values to be mentioned. Honor is to live up the Character of God, the Values of a Godly man. To honor those who are in our lives, as well as anyone we may encounter on a daily basis. Honor is not to be walking around boasting that we are men of honor, but one will know that he may have achieved Honor by being called an honorable man when he least expects it. But true Honor comes in to the life of a man who seeks the Lords face, by giving the Honor to the one who is to be honored. 

“And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever."” Revelation 5:13 

When we humble ourselves before the Lord, He lifts us up, and gives us His Honor.

As I mentioned before, Honor is the tie in between Loyalty, Duty, Respect and Selfless Service and the values to be mentioned. So, Integrity is the following value after Honor. The Basic understanding of integrity is to do what is right, Spiritually, morally to include legally (caution: there may be instances when one will have to follow the law of God before the law of men). A man of God has to be willing to do what is right even when no one is looking. In a way integrity is the "moral compass" that The Holy Spirit uses to speak to us. In Proverbs 11:3 King Solomon says “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” 

“Better the poor whose walk is blameless than the rich whose ways are perverse”. Proverbs 28:6 

Peter reminds us the reason to keep our integrity clear with the next statement; “keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." 1 Peter 3:16.

The final value I want to make mention of is Personal Courage. It is to face fear, danger or adversity (physical, spiritual or moral). Personal courage has long been associated with the heroes from the Bible and God’s generals. With physical courage, it is a matter of enduring physical duress and at times risking personal safety. Facing moral fear or adversity may be a long, slow process of continuing forward on the right path, particularly if taking those actions is not popular among others. You can build your personal courage by daily standing up for and acting upon the things that you know are honorable. 

Paul writes to Timothy “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” 2 Tim. 1:7. Likewise, in 1 Cor. 16:13 “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong”.

Accordingly, men (and women) who decide to discipline themselves in a Godly character, those who choose to use the values to become men of Character, gentlemen of God will face adversity along the way. At times, they will face moral danger, threat of peril, the enemy will attempt to torment one through tribulation. Likewise, God will allow tests, not even for Himself to see if you can; He knows what you can and cannot do. He will never allow a test beyond one’s capability. But He will allow you to go through a test to sustain your knowledge, experiences and faith in yourself as much as in God.

Finally, a man with God’s Character, understands that he is not a dictator, but a servant of God. Just as our public leaders are called public servants; the same with us.  A leader is one who serves his community and lives as an example. He is a steward of the community. God gave us authority and a name, but He also teaches us to be stewards; the same applies to family. Men are stewards. God made Eve out of the side of Adam. As Adam cares for his flesh and body, he is to care for his wife. Adam was first, Eve was second. Adam was to serve his wife as a leader who received firsthand knowledge from God. An interesting allegory happens in the Hebrew word for man and woman. 

The Hebrew word for man is ish. Spelled aleph, yod shin. The yod is the first letter of God’s name, YHWH. Remove the yod and you will have the word for fire, aleph shin pronounced “esh”. The same is with woman, Ishah; spelled aleph, shin hey. The hey is the second letter in YHWH’s name. Remove the hey, and you again will have esh, fire. From this we learn, as Yod is first in God’s name, so is a man to look to God as the first in the family and to lead the family in worship, celebration and work. The woman is to follow looking for the grace of God through the Holy spirit. If the yod and the hey is taken out of their lives, then they will consume each other as fire consumes fire.

As I close this monologue, I would like to summarize what has been said. Gentlemen (and Ladies) are to imitate God, in order to fulfill our Fathers objective. Likewise, Gentlemen imitate and seek the Character of God. One is to be disciplined in following the values of Jesus as a leader. The primary values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. If one takes the values and makes them into an acronym LDRSHIP, you will see that it spells out Leadership. There is nothing which can so assist you to walk towards heaven with good speed, as wearing the image of Jesus on your heart to rule all its motions. It is when, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you are enabled to walk with Jesus in His very footsteps, that you are happiest, and most known to be the sons of God. What drives you today? What makes you get up today or tomorrow and go on your daily endeavors? Is it the love for your Savior? Is His name precious to you? Is His cause dear to you? Wouldst you see the kingdoms of the world become His? Is it your desire that He should be glorified? Are you longing that souls should be won to Him? If so, imitate Jesus; be an "epistle of Christ, known and read of all men." 

Are you a lady who is seeking a Godly man? Then look to God first, and through His eyes look at a man who imitates Jesus. Are you a man desiring to become better than what you already have achieved? Than look to God, and imitate Him. The above, it is only a guideline, but a shall nevertheless.

Father, bless them and keep them, and make Your face to shine upon them. Be gracious unto them and give them Your peace. Let a revival of righteousness begin in our living rooms and become our congregations that; we may build families that churches withstand upon, that can change this nation and bring it back to God. Let every man who reads this, leave endowed with the strength of our Savior to lead, to guide, to love and provide all that their families need. Let these men follow you and imitate you. This I ask, in Jesus' name. God, now I ask that You bless and keep them; that You make Your face to shine upon them that Your goodness and Your mercy and Your favor shower them today.  Let them know, that this week, this month, and this year they are grafted into the everlasting, almighty vine of the Son of the living God and that You, Jehovah, are watching over them; that You care for them; and that their potential is unlimited so long as they are abiding in You. Lord, I ask that this blessing become a reality in their lives; that the fruit it produces would bring glory to God our Father in heaven. In Jesus’ name, I pray and ask, Amen.