Be A Man

By Ted Mock

May 13, 2026

1 Corinthians 16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.  

We live in a day and time when it seems that manhood is disappearing in our country.  I sometimes deal with the subject with a little humor.  I will start talking about boys who wear skinny jeans, drink lattes and frappes, and play video games all day.  I tell them they need to start watching more old John Wayne movies and start drinking their coffee black, straight off the campfire, just like the Duke.  Most of them will then ask me, “Who is John Wayne?”  

It is a sad truth that manhood is hard to find these days, even sadder and harder to find is Christian manhood.

When the Scripture uses the phrase, “Quit ye like men”… it does not mean to stop being a man, it means to acquit yourself like a man, finish like a man, act like a man.  Simply put, it means to be a man.

I have almost finished with reading and making notes in a Bible for Caleb, a grand nephew of mine.  When I came to this passage, this is what I wrote to him:

• Be a man, be a godly man, make that your goal in life. You are on the verge of manhood, be a man!  You are designed to be the protector and provider of your family one day.  Be a man!  Watch, stand fast, act like a man and be strong.  Be a man!  
• When you marry, love your wife like Christ, sacrificially, eternally.  Stay faithful to her and the Lord.  Lead your wife and children in worshipping and serving God.  Pattern your life after Biblical examples of manhood.  Start now, you will be a man sooner than you think.  Be a man!

Reflection—The mighty man in the midst of the battle is prepared to die, but never to yield.