BetterMan Core: Lesson 9

Well, men, welcome to session nine in our Better Man Corps journey. We have really turned the corner on the home stretch now, and today we're going to look at the third part of our definition of a biblical manhood, that a real man excels at God's work. I mean, work is a big deal for every man. I don't care what age or stage in life you are, that there's something about work that God intended for it, and we need to rightly understand or will struggle. Work has the ability to add real value to a man's life or to take life from him. There's a lot of work-related stories in your circle that you're sitting in, I'm sure. Some of you, even now, if we were just having heart-to-heart, you feel a little undervalued in your workplace. Maybe some of you, let's just get real, maybe you're a little frustrated with what you're currently doing. Maybe you're afraid to try and do something different. Some men will feel stuck, suffocated, and then some men are truly satisfied. And that's what I'm hoping for us to get to today, at least the journey toward that. Here's some things to know about work. Work, it can be deeply satisfying. It can be deeply satisfying. I pray that faith will awaken in you for that. Something that you love to do, what you do, you work with. Here's an ideal to believe for, be a part of, a contributing to, that you work with a great team. That maybe for you, I want this to happen, and it'll be deeply satisfying if it's true, that you feel that your skills and capacities are being utilized and bringing about good results. That's one truth about work. The other is, work can also be empty and exasperating, empty and exasperating. Some men that are out here right now, your boss, you feel like doesn't have a clue of what you're capable of, or even care. Some men, if you were just downright honest, you hate what you do.

You hate your work, but you're also scared to death to seek out something new. Some of you wonder why you're not appreciated, or why you're not noticed for what you bring to the table. Then there's other men's, men that you are succeeding, but you're still not happy, meaning that you're climbing the ladder and the chart, but you're still not satisfied in the kind of work you're doing. You're doing your work well, but you're not well in your own soul around it. Let me give you some quick facts about men and work. Most men define themselves, define themselves by what they do. How quick does it come up? We know this conversation. Hey, my name is Kyle, and before you know it, within 30 seconds, the question is, what do you do? Oftentimes, unfortunately, it's how we measure a man. We measure a man by what he does, by what he does and how he does it. Some truths, some facts about men. Men spend more time, more time in the workplace than anywhere else. Let me give you some stats here. 60 to 65% of our time is spent at work. Think about that. 60 to 65% of our time is spent at work. 30 to 35% of our time is spent with family and personal interest. 0 to 10% of our time is spent in church or in community activities. This is the timeline, outside of when we sleep. This is the timeline of how a man's life plays out. So I want to just look at you in the eyes for a second. Let's believe for more inside of that 60 to 65% that that aspect of our life can make a dramatic difference in the world. Now some other facts. According to a Gallup survey, a majority of men feel miscast.

They feel miscast in the work that they do. Here's some crazy stats now, crazy. 50% of all workers are not personally engaged in their job. 50% of men are not personally engaged, meaning that they have little to no passion for what they do. 50% of men fulfilling some kind of job, some kind of role, have zero interest in what they're actually doing. doing. Another 22% are actively disengaged, meaning not only these men are not working well, they are putting forth the least effort possible to merely get a paycheck. So 72%, according to this Gallup survey, 72% of men are just existing or even resisting the kind of work that they are doing. Another fact, men today increasingly want real purpose in their work. This is a good thing. More today than ever before, men increasingly want real purpose in their work. The good news is that men want more than a job. I think we've been awakening to this more and more. We want something that has meaning. Men want the kind of job that brings about a difference in the world. In many instances, the workplace has shifted from the pursuit of a profit and self-interest but the desire for purpose. There's a number of companies that are out there now that are not just thinking about what they can get but what they can give. There's a number of bosses, there's a number of laborers that are thinking about their contribution to the world. The beauty of that is, listen, as our world awakens to that, that's what the Bible has always declared. The Bible has always believed for more as it pertains to work for men than merely fulfilling a job or a work schedule or merely making a paycheck. That the Bible is relevant in this regard. The Bible has been saying work should be about more than merely making money. God knew from the beginning when work is for profit only, it will harden a man's heart. It'll make him selfish and stingy. But when work has a noble purpose, it will fulfill a man's heart. When there's more to work than merely the work, when there's people on the other side, where there's services that can be provided, it can bring a man alive. It can be deeply satisfying. Now here's

some facts that we need to do. I'm talking about the landscape. We sounded the alarm on manhood session one. I want to sound the alarm a little bit around the workplace for men in the future. The future is setting up to be a difficult time for men in the workplace. Many researchers are forecasting that men in the prime years of their life will find it more and more difficult to find employment. It is statistically said by the year 2050, 33% of all working age men could be unemployed. Here's three of the reasons why. That's a staggering stat. 33% one out of three men could be unemployed. One is robotics. The brawn of men will be increasingly replaced in the years ahead by machines. Hello, Alexa, androids, AI, all those things. It is said that there will be nearly 14 million new robots in the workplace in the next few decades replacing mostly men's jobs now. Second thing that's making it difficult, as we talked about earlier, is education. Women are being educated at a far higher rate than men, and education is the key to the jobs of the future, and men are falling behind. The third thing is marriage. As marriage rates continue to fall in America, so will the number of working men. That's because marriage and work go hand in hand. As men get married later in life, they don't assume the responsibility they need in those earlier years. Listen, I heard somebody was explaining trucks one day to me. Do you know that that trucks were intended to carry, like they are designed to ride better with a little weight, with a little weight in the bed? So if you put a little weight in the bed of a truck, it actually rides at its highest possibilities, at its highest level possible. Men, we were meant to carry some weight. Men, we were meant to carry some weight. The weight of being married bears with it the responsibility of being a provider, and so something about marriage helps move men toward clear markers of maturation and manhood. One of the things it calls us as young dads to really encourage our sons, don't you just think about this, to encourage our sons educationally. Dads, we naturally, around sports, anything athletic or anything, we love to push our kids towards excellence. There's something noble about that at times,

but we should take the time to look at our sons in light of the forecast and the landscape of the workplace and encourage our children to work toward their education in a manner that's gonna set them up for the long race future and make marriage something noble, something to aspire to in a future season, not something to avoid to the last minute. Here's the truth. Work is a major topic of the Bible. Matter of fact, the first verse of the Bible reveals God at work, that the God of the universe created the cosmos, that he created man, he created woman. Matter of fact, before he even created woman, we see man at work, and he gave Adam a promise. If you do a good job here, you'll subdue the earth. What God the Father looked into the eyes of Adam and said is, join me in this work. Join me in this work in the world. Think of what you hear echoes of that in Paul when he says in Colossians 2, verses 23 and 24, whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. One passage, like a couple verses of scripture, tell us some things, man, I want you to hear in your heart about work. Here's what it says.

All work, all work is important to God. Whatever kind of work you find yourself in each season of your life is important to God. I don't care if you're an architect or you're sweeping floors, each one of them is important. Every aspect of it is important to God. Ultimately, all work is working for God. Every kind of work is first and foremost an act of worship. Every kind of work is an act of worship, saying God, you gave me the breath and the ability. You gave me the strength and the understanding to do this kind of work to glorify your name. And all work, all work should get the best, the best that we have as a man. All work should get my best as a man. Heartily, that's a man word. Heartily is a word that means intense emotion and enthusiasm. You maybe know Coach Jim Harbaugh, or you maybe know Coach John Harbaugh, both of them now in the NFL as coaches, but a guy you should know is their dad, Jack Harbaugh. He was also a football coach, and they had these mantras they had as a family, and one of them I love is that their dad would say to a young Jim and a young John, one of the things he could do is most days drop his kids off at school, work long hours coaching, all those things, but he'd try to make it a point to take them to school.

And before they would get out to go in their school, Jack Harbaugh would look at his young sons, Coach Jim and John, and he would say, attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to man. Attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to man. Now I'm sure many days that they rolled their eyes and were sarcastic little teenagers and all those kind of things. But you know, as grown men now, they both look to their teams, each practice, and say, men, attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to man. Man, could you imagine what a workplace would be like if men showed up with that spirit? Man, that they're gonna come to attack this opportunity to work with enthusiasm unknown to man. That's a better man. That's a better man. That's a different kind of man. That's a kingdom man. The other truth is all work done rightly will be rewarded by God. Be rewarded by God. That God sees our effort and He is a rewarder. Promises of an inheritance are better than the promise of a paycheck. Promises of a well done is greater than anything we're gonna get later in life. It's a standard.

It's a name. The guy that does the work well, that he leaves it all on the field. Man, I'm believing that God is raising up a generation of men that'll not only walk with God, but will work in a manner that glorifies God and is different than men of this world. Work from Genesis on is a big deal. God. So let's get some help as we keep moving through this material. How a man finds the right job. How a man finds the right job. To know who you are and how you're wired to work. Here's some ways that you can find the right job. You got to know who you are and how you're wired for work. Some of the things I'd encourage you to do. This is getting practical now. Look over your past and your current work experiences and ask yourself a few questions. One, what kind of things bring me alive? Like what kind of things when I put my hand to, I find energy man. I find excitement around it. What kind of specific activities do you love? Do you like working with a certain type of person or team? Do you like to work with your head or do you like to work with your hands? Do you like an office or do you like being outside? In every come-alive moment is a window. In every moment that you work in a certain way that you just feel yourself come alive is a window into seeing what you were made for. Listen for me that journey man has grown. I remember for most of my life I thought all I ever wanted to do is be a coach. To coach baseball and to coach football. I love the sport man. I love the team. I love standing in front of people. I love being a part of one. Even as I was a player I longed for the day to coach. So as soon as I graduated high school I started I started interning while I was going through college and helping coach be a GA basically and and I loved every aspect of that and then as I came to know Christ started growing in my relationship with God, God started refining that calling and let me know that he wanted me to preach and pastor. What I didn't know is the echoes and the

shadows that I saw in coaching is very true in pastoring and preaching. That I love standing before people and believing for something bigger than one individual. When the kingdom of God man that became really really clear and one of the reasons why I do what I'm doing right now is because I can see you on the other side of this camera and I'm believing for you. This ain't about a paycheck for me man this is about purpose. It took years to refine that and define that fully and I'm just telling you if you'll go on the journey with God around work God will show you the things that will help bring about goodness and and honestly glory to God and flourishing in this world. One of the things you might need to do is to seek out some wise objective counselors that can help size you up and be helpful. I love what Proverbs 11 14 says where there's no guidance to people fall but in the abundance of counselors there is victory. Man you need somebody that'll be honest with you. You need somebody to tell you what you're good at and somebody to tell you what you're not good at. Listen to me I know your mama thinks you can do anything but your mama is lying to you. That that's not true. That you're not made to do anything you are made to do specific things and yet you need some people to help you define that over time some honest feedback. I would encourage you to use some personality and even aptitude testings. Find some different tools out there strength finders 2.0 there's the aims aptitude testing help you identify things that you like and things that you're skilled at and made for to get beyond just the testing of like standardized testing or ACTs but to see things that you naturally do and you have aptitude for. Another thing is that you need to know who you're not and adjust away from that in your work. Some men spend a good portion of their working lives in a job that they're not a match or cut out for and man hear me now it takes some real courage to come to terms with who you're not and to seek better career options. The salesman that's not a good salesman people having to lead when they're truly what made to lead the way that they're having to lead it's a pressure not a pleasure. Like you have to evaluate those things in the presence of God and with wise counselors

and never be afraid to say who you're not. It will help you find who you are in work and by the way I'm not saying go quit your job today if you do that you're misunderstanding the journey but I'm asking you to be willing to find out who you are or to even affirm today that you are in the right arena or the right area not who your dad says you are not trying to be your dad but who God made you uniquely you never say let's make a declaration here never say I'm trapped in my job. No man is trapped. except in his own mind. In his own mind. Seek some wise counselors and keep moving forward. So let me give you a few more things. How a man excels at work. Don't just work. Work to be really good at something. Don't just work. Don't just work the time slot or just get the job done. Work to be really good at something. Proverbs 22 29 says, Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings. Do you see a man that's skilled at his work? He will stand before kings. He will not stand before obscure men. In any work there's someone out there who is the man. There's that, hey that dude, he's the cabinet guy. That guy, he's the painter guy. That guy, he's the car repair guy. That guy, he's the engineer. He's the architect. He's the principal or he's the teacher or he's the coach. Man, work hard to become that man that people see something in that does the work well. Few things are more God-glorifying than when a man makes up his mind that whatever he puts his hand to, he's going to excel at. This kind of man doesn't give himself to his work half-hearted, but gives himself to his work both-handed. Be responsive to those that are above you and earn their trust. Guys, hear me for a second. It's easy to throw jabs at an authority in any field. It takes a man to honor them in every way they can. Listen, even if you got a bad boss, you can honor them for the role they're in and how you work for them. Few things are more exhausting to an employer than an employee who does his work grudgingly, who overlooks details, makes excuses, and generally fails to follow through on their task. But on the other hand, there's few things that are more life-giving to an employer than an employee who can be trusted to faithfully do his work and actually execute his job that has integrity. By

the way, if you ever hope to be an authority, you need to learn how to live under authority. And if you'll do that, God will see it and will honor it. Proverbs 25 13 says, A faithful employee is as invigorating as a cool day in the hot summertime. He refreshes the soul of his boss. Be that kind of employee. Faithfully responding to those that are over you establishes your name in the workplace. And guys, listen to me. There's something about a good name. Proverbs 22 1 says, A good name is to be more desired than great wealth. That's favor as you are faithful. Another thing about work, over-deliver in your work. Proverbs 10 4 says, Poor is he who works with lazy hands, but hard-working hands get rich. The general work standard in our day is just good enough, good enough to get by. But man, listen to me. The standard of a cross-follower, the standard of a man of the kingdom, the standard of a better man should be to over-deliver. That we're gonna do what we said we would do and even more. That we're gonna do it on time. We're gonna beat deadlines. We're gonna do it and come under budget. That we're gonna do it for the person that we're serving. We're not gonna do it merely for bonuses. That we're gonna look to our customer, our clients and say, man, we're showing up on the scene and we're faithful to what we promised you. That's the Colossians 3 23 24, man. Whatever you do, do your work heartily. Ask for the Lord rather than for men. It is the Lord Christ whom we serve. That as I glorify him, I'm gonna serve you. Another thing, be an encourager and a team builder. First Thessalonians 5 11 says, encourage one another and build up one another just as you're doing. Listen, you should be the guy when they're in the office complex and they see through the window that you're coming. They're going, man, I'm glad he's here today. That when you're out, there's something missing. Because you're faithful, you're life-giving, you're an encourager, you're building up. That you bring life, you bring the life of God to the place in which you work. That your words, listen to me, that your words impact your work. Ephesians 4 verse 29 says, let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth but only such a word as is good for the building up or one of another. That life and death are on the power of the tongue. So you speak life. You're not the gossip.

You're not the slanderer. You're not the one that's... Back-biting or bickering around the workplace, and you're the one to go, No, no, no, let's just do it right. No, no, no, I mean, you don't know what pressure he might feel or she might feel. No, no, no, let's get focused here. That you're the man that is above reproach, man. You're the man that's different and distinct. Another thing is to keep your word. We say this because we live in a culture where people don't keep their word. Listen to me, at work, your word and your reputation travel together. You hear me now? At work, your word and your reputation, they travel together. So keep your word. If you say you're going to do something, do something. If you make a commitment, follow through. If you say you'll pay it, you pay it. You say you'll be there, you show up and you show up on time. The scripture commends the man who keeps his promise and follows through even when it's hard. That's Psalm 15, 4. It says he swears to his own hurt, yet he does not change. You make a promise even though it ends up costing more time or energy, you still see it through. A man and his work in summary, man. Let's wrap it up here. You need right input. You need wise friends, professional counselors, objective testing that critically help you discover, guys, who you are and who you're not. Evaluate a little bit. Maybe be affirmed in where you currently are or be able to address and make some adjustments moving forward. You need the best to get the best education and training possible and pursue the work career that best syncs with your passions and your talents. Good preparation, especially on the front end of life, always pays off in the long run. So some of those that are younger on the other side of this, watch and make some smart decisions right now.

And those of us that are moving through our career, maybe in the middle or toward the end, keep learning. Man, keep setting in settings that you can be trained and hone those skills. You need to let the wisdom of the Bible coach you up in how you work. Man, work to be really good at something. Be responsive to those that are over you, man. Recognize authority and live rightly in that. Over deliver. Be an encourager and a team builder. Keep your word. The above will lead to a man that excels at his work, enjoys it and blesses those around him. Man, the majority of your life is going to be spent in some kind of work environment and work atmosphere. Do it to the glory of God with your best effort and energy and in a way that can bring true satisfaction to your life. You're not working for your identity. Your identity is secure in Jesus Christ. I hope that's true. You believe you've been born again. But as those that are born again, we are working from that identity in a manner that brings glory to God, good to this world and joy to our hearts. There's more for you in your work. So, man, spend some time with your small group right there, your table, and talk through these things and get some wise feedback. I look forward to being back with you next week. Man, we're almost through. Let's finish the race. See you soon.