“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes”

-Proverbs 3:5-7

I am a “make it happen” kind of guy. Like many other men, I was trained at a young age that if I wanted something, I needed to go get it. That journey began as a kid when I started my first lawn mowing business. I learned quickly that if I wanted things, it was up to me to go get them – and I had the power to make that happen. Align that with an inner desire to build, create, and hunt, and it was easy to slide into an “I’ll do this all myself” mindset.

That mindset stuck with me. In my career, leadership, and running a business, it followed me. Years later, I am still that 12-year-old boy with a lawn mower on a mission to make things happen.

Sound familiar?

Proverbs 3 challenges that thinking. We are warned not to be wise in our own eyes or to lean on our own understanding. Instead, it reminds us that we need to trust in the Lord, not our own abilities, and that God alone will direct our paths. Proverbs 16:9 shares a similar message.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.”

What does this mean for us? The Word clearly tells us to trust the Lord, lean into Him, and allow Him to establish our steps. None of those include a “now, go make things happen” directive. Hearing this, it would be easy to take a step back and become passive, but go back to those two verses we shared above…

“He shall direct your paths.”

“The Lord establishes their steps.”

Clearly, in both cases, we are called to move. These verses tell the story of a man on a path, not sitting still but moving. We are called to take our steps and do our part to make things happen while God does his. It’s a collaborative partnership of epic proportions. God does his part, and we do ours. He makes things happen on His side, and we make things happen on ours – working together.

So, yes. As men, we’re called to make things happen. There is work to be done, and God expects us to participate actively in that work. At the same time, we are called to trust God with the results, the direction, and where our work takes us. We’re reminded that as much as we know the course and where the journey is leading, God may take us in a different direction. Wherever that is, we need to trust Him to lead our lives, provide for our needs, and make things happen for us. Do your part… and let God do His.

There comes a time in every man’s life when we grapple with this question. “What’s my legacy going to be?” Asking this question can be especially timely as we transition from one year to the next, setting goals and looking toward the future. We’re all going to leave a legacy. The question is whether we’ll leave it intentionally or it will just be created by accident. 

As young men, this idea of legacy rarely shows up on our radar. We’re focused on other things, and the runway in front of us to create our legacy is long. Legacy seems far away and can be hard to focus on amidst everything else. Who has time for this?

As we mature, physically and spiritually, the runway gets shorter – and our relationship with legacy changes. It becomes more of a priority and something we think about more frequently. “When I’m gone, what will I leave behind?

That can be a daunting question. It can be easy to make our legacy about many things, some of which are very good and even Biblical. Using your finances to leave a legacy and further the kingdom is one way to approach answering what you’ll leave behind and where your priorities live. Equally important, though, is the imprint we make in the world when we serve others.

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

-Matthew 20:26-28

Jesus spoke about servant leadership, but even more compelling, He lived it out. Specifically, the story of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet at the last supper illustrates what servant leadership looks like with a command that we follow His example.

So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

-John 13:4-5, 14-15

From our businesses to our living rooms to our communities, living a life focused on serving one another is one simple path to creating our legacy. A powerful way to live this out is to invest in the lives of other men. As we search for significance and generational influence in our lives, the brotherhood we share with other guys is significant.

What are some examples of this?

• Disciple another man through Operation Timothy
• Lead a Bible study at your church
• Support a man you know who is going through trials
• Spend time investing in the spiritual foundations of your sons
• Slow down and take time to share a meal together
• Be there for a brother who is dealing with health challenges

For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

-Luke 22:27

Becoming the man God wants you to be includes leaving a legacy behind that is based on investing in other men. If you want to reach your full potential and become more like the man God designed you to be, begin by serving your brothers, their families, and their children.

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”

-1 Peter 2:2

None of us wakes up in the morning thinking, “I’m going to lead like a baby today.” Instead,we’re grown men who often try to lean into our strength, experiences, and intelligence as welead in the workplace and at home. Culture tells us we can do everything we need to on ourown. The Bible tells us something different… that we should live life and lead like babies.

Babies are hungry… and we should be as well.

When the verse above says babies crave spiritual milk, it’s because they are hungry. They needmilk to grow, so they have an appetite for it. In the same way, as growing Christian men, we need to have an appetite for God’s word. Here’s where we are different from the babies, though.The baby naturally craves milk. As busy leaders, it can be easy for us to crave things other than God’s Word and ignore it. In those instances where we’re not hungry for God’s Word, we need to drink it anyway. Over time, God will increase our appetite for it and remind us of our dependence on it, which leads us to our second insight for the day…

Babies are dependent… and we should be as well.

Babies need their mothers and fathers to meet their basic needs–feeding, changing, and living them. They don’t choose to be dependent; they just are. They can’t take care of themselves on their own, so they look to their parents for everything. In the same way, we should look to God to meet all our needs. That’s where the challenge comes in for men. We believe, incorrectly,that we can meet our needs on our own. We’re tempted every day to be self-sufficient, surviving by our strength. That’s where the baby has an advantage over us. Infants never entertain the thought that they can survive on their own. Just like those babies, we should never entertain that thought, either. We need God, who provides everything we need according to His richesand glory–not ours. This leads us to the third insight…

Babies make their needs known… and we should as well.

When a baby needs something, they ask. They cry, fuss, and scream when they are hungry, sick, or need a diaper change. Yet, too often, as men, we hesitate to bring our needs to the Father. Again, we try to control everything and make things happen independently. By not bringing our needs and challenges to God in prayer, we take away His opportunity to feed us and care for us.

Leading Well…

Here’s the reality, men. We need God. Just like that baby needs their milk, we need to get fed by God. We need to be hungry, dependent, and willing to ask. We need to drop our pride, set aside our egos, and let God in. Where we end, He can begin.

Iron Sharpens Iron

If you’re interested in joining men like you who are learning what it means to be men of God and strong Christian leaders, visit us today at: connect.cbmc.com

We’ve all found ourselves with more free time on our hands than ever before, and a great way to pass the time is by reading and expanding your own knowledge. With traditional book clubs out of commission during quarantine, Christian Business Men’s Connections has collected a list of the best books to read while quarantine continues.

1. No-Fail Communication: 13 Workplace Communication Problems and How to Fix Them by Michael Hyatt

Communication in the workplace can easily falter, which creates a domino effect of frustration and confusion for future projects and tasks. Make discussions and understanding clear and precise with this book from Michael Hyatt. We’ve found this book particularly helpful during our remote work as we adjust to communicating without face-to-face contact.

2. Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders

J. Oswald Sanders outlines the classic and timeless principles of leadership through His teachings with examples from men of God, such as Moses, Nehemiah, Paul, David Livingstone, and Charles Spurgeon. Sanders posts that natural leadership abilities are God-given, and those with promising skills will only reach their full potential with His teachings.

3. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Gladwell’s debut book explains the science behind the magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior reaches the threshold to exploding into a phenomena and spreading across the world. Rethink the way you view viral trends, business, marketing, and human behavior.

4. The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader’s Day by John Maxwell

Not every man is born a leader, but every man can become a leader by learning and sharpening a collection of skills. Maxwell’s book provides a daily plan to help you nurture those skills to better your life spiritually, personally and professionally.

5. Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin

It’s human nature to seek out groups of those who share our beliefs, be they religious, ethnic, economic, political, or even musical. These tribes we long to be a part of don’t come with leadership naturally, so it’s up to the people with a passion to make a difference and lead. Godin’s book demystifies the process of rallying employees, customers, investors, and more around an idea.

Align with other Christian business men looking to improve their integration of work and faith. Become a member of CMBC today.