Have you ever read about David’s Mighty Men? Take a minute and read 2 Samuel 23:8-39. What is your gut reaction to this passage? I would dare say that most men react in a way that is quite different from most women.

As a man, I read that and think, “I want to make that list.” Can you imagine sitting around that dinner table and sharing those stories? I believe that somewhere in every man is the desire to be considered a mighty man. I also believe that most men haven’t a clue how to get there. I am convinced that men have a need to fight. How else do you explain the popularity of movies and video games that put us in the middle of the battle? Why is the market for these almost exclusively male? Who is watching Ultimate Fighting Championships? Men, 18-30, make up the entire market for this sport where spectators watch two guys beat the daylights out of each other. Can I just say for the record I respect these athletes. They are trained and conditioned to an amazing level. There is something inside me that draws me to watch, and then there is something inside me that makes me wonder how I could ever watch that.

This generation of men has become spectators watching someone else’s battle. David’s Mighty Men had their own battle to fight. More importantly, they had a cause worth battling for. Some combination of Kingdom, freedom, and family motivated them to do incredible things. We need to uncover that Kingdom-sized cause in our lives and share it with our sons. What is worth getting in the ring for? Is it your marriage, your family, your mission, your ministry?

Until we do, we will continue to be a weak, disengaged generation. We can either man-up or hide. You can recognize hiding by the way we turn out the lights and fight wars on the TV screen, put on a shirt that reads “Tapout” and convince ourselves that we would stand a chance in the octagon, or douse ourselves in perfume with a manly name like Axe in hopes that people will be confused and miss the fact that we are not we seem.