1 Corinthians 16:13 — Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
This is such a powerful verse. So much is crammed into these few words. I want to focus on: “quit you like men.”
Today I was meditating on this verse while driving around in my school bus. I cut 3x5 cards in half and write on them a verse or so. I lay it out in plain view to look at. I find it’s a great way to stay focused on spiritual things in the midst of the town I drive around in. As I look out at the fallen humanity swirling around me, my verses give me hope. They renew my commitment to live out my faith.
Concerning the word “quit” one source says: “Several generations ago, ‘quit you like men’ was a frequently heard phrase in English-speaking countries. To modern ears, quit means "to stop" or "to give up," but it can also mean "to conduct oneself in a specified way.”
In other words, men who are men of God (saved) are suppose to act like men of God … God’s men.
This morning I was talking with one of the men that drives a school bus where I work. (He’s a few years older than I am: 70. He served in Viet Nam. He’s a man.) He was telling me about an incident he observed the other day in town while driving his bus.
He was a couple of cars behind another one of our buses that was letting out students. Three of the students (of another ethnicity) were taking their sweet ‘ole time crossing to the other side of the street. They were the pants down to the butt type kids. Cars were getting aggravated at how long it was taking these kids to cross the street. My driver friend was getting aggravated as well.
So as he’s telling me about this he blurts out: Those =+*^#@+!!!!! kids +_*&&&**^^##@. He just let ‘er rip. It caught me off guard and I just busted out laughing. It was great! I grabbed him by the shoulder and told him you can tell we’re from a different generation. It was refreshing to hear somebody say something like this in our politically correct world … without any fear of what anybody would think. I miss those days.
In this verse Paul (who is politically gender insensitive by today’s standards) is telling the Corinthian men to … act like men of God, God’s men. How do we define what it is to be a man of God? What is our mind suppose to envision? Wonder what examples Paul would have used when reenforcing his call for men to be God’s men?
Perhaps … Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Joshua? When it came to doing battle for the Lord, these men were warriors that weren’t afraid to get their hands bloodied in the battle. They could go to that “place” where it gets down-and-dirty and get the job done. We need men like that.
And you know what?
I can promise you that Momma wasn’t hovering over little Joshua when he was growing up saying: “Now Joshie, you know we don’t play with swords.”
In today’s politically gender correct age, everything is blurred. Especially when it comes to men being men. I mean, today little boys aren’t supposed to play with toy guns anymore. I can’t tell you how many mothers I’ve seen discourage their young boys from “playing with guns.” That makes me so mad. I just want to smack the husband upside the head.
What happened to the days when boys played soldiers? Or, cops-and-robbers? Or, how about shooting toy guns and bows-and-arrows while playing cowboys and Indians (excuse me, cowboys and indigenous peoples). If we want boys to grow up and be men … how about letting them be boys!
I love how Paul ends this chapter. I tend to think he’s showing us what a manly man of God looks like when dealing with the eternal truths of Scripture.
Verse 22 — “If any man love not the Lord Yeshua Messiah, let him be Anathema Maranatha.”
Here’s what Paul is saying.
{You’ll find this if you look it up in the “original” Greek taken from the “original” Hebrew and the three letter root for each word … because, that’s what God meant for all His people to have to do, right??}
Sorry …
Here it is:
“You know what? I’m done! I’m not messing around anymore. Yeshua is coming and people’s eternal souls are at stake. I’m putting all of you on notice. If you hate the Lord Messiah Yeshua, then you can go to … the eternal choice you’ve made. The final judgment passed on you will stand!”
You can trust me. It’s all there in the “original.”
Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.