Lecrae said, We some broken people, came from homes, broken hearts inside of a broken soul. The truth is I'm broken, you're broken, and that person over there is broken. How? Why? To theologically unpack it, the first Adam fell and sin entered the world, to unpack it on the street level, well … review your life and see for yourself. As men, to rise to the stage of the Warrior, we have to grapple with the shadow propagated by the wound.
Nine men around a campfire after a day of rock climbing, poured out their hearts to one another, and without explicitly saying it, we could relate to the other, and the fact that we were wounded. Guys shared some current struggles, and it was good to just go there to that place of vulnerability with your brothers, who you know won't judge you, but will sit with you.
In John Eldridge's The Way of the Wild Heart (a central element to our brotherhood's annual retreats), Eldridge specifically addressed what wounds the warrior inside. The heart of the warrior is wounded when:
- He is told aggression is wrong or unChristian, niceness equals godliness
- he has no one to train him, no King to give his allegiance to, or no purpose
- his attempts to rise up as a warrior are mocked or crushed (shamed)
- he is constantly coming across setbacks
I carry similar wounds everyday. For many years, I felt purposeless and at the very core of who I am, I ran to thing after thing looking for a purpose, only to find the hollow truth that a purpose that has self as the end is not a purpose at all. When I was younger it was school and academic prowess, then it was basketball, then it was women or being funny or cool, then it was ministry. Each faulty attempt to find purpose left me without one.
Without a battle to fight, the warrior will fall into complacency and passivity. Eldridge unpacks some of the net results of such a void of purpose, such as, not engaging or taking action; he explicitly calls it a "land of capitulation and passivity", surrendering without giving a fifth. "Passivity has no place in the lexicon of manhood", Eldridge passionately claims.
So where are you at? What is your father wound? What moments in life have broken the warrior inside or made us lose fight? What wounds and shadows still linger that quench the warrior inside? What trials are God putting you through to raise the warrior in you?
Y'know just a couple questions to ask yourself or your brother to hone in on that wound. We will heal and we will rise to play the man, the warrior, but we can do nothing apart from God, and we need to also do it in the fellowship of godly people, especially if you have men of valor surrounding you. "Spiritual bravery is cultivated when we take risks of faith." (Eldridge, again, in case you forgot him)
But for a journey that sees us grow into the warrior, we must look behind us, not just reflect, but to find other men we can encourage in the journey. Part of the journey is seeing and contributing to another's journey by way of discipleship. So who are the boys or men in your life that God has intentionally placed in your life to pour into? And how can we cultivate the warrior in younger men in our lives?
The question of who is a big one. For Aaron and Justin, it would definitely be their sons. Perhaps for Kenny and me, it is our nephews. Who's in your church or at your job? Maybe someone you know who has not been walking with the Lord as long as you or young in their faith. The beauty of community is we are surrounded by people that we can encourage in the Lord.
So now the how. Eldridge lays out some great ideas. My favorite was probably risking to ask God something in prayer, and when God doesn't respond, persevere and hold fast and not give up so easily so that enemy can not take him over. Absolutely! The boldness to pray and not give up will keep the spirit of the warrior strong to discouragement and disappointment.
Another good one is wherever the boy is frighten or there is hesitancy, take him there over time. This teaches the boy to fight fear knowing that he is not alone. Helping the boy not to quit and teaching him to rise above heartbreaks and setbacks.
Then there is modeling it. "The boy needs to see his father as a warrior." (Eldridge) How?
Confront the evil one like Jesus did
- Flee when under spiritual attack
- Be encouraged to walk in prayer; Teach them how to cultivate prayer life
- Scripture memorization; Let them see the Word of God in you; Bring up the Word of God in conversation
- Teach the young man how to use his strength
As much as I am still reeling from the loss of my Cavs in the NBA Finals to the Warriors, I will bite their hashtag as an encouragement to us all: DubsStandUp
Judges 6:12-14
Joshua 1:8
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