It is my considered opinion that it does not make any difference what a man wishes to accomplish in his lifetime, nor does it matter where he has been, nor where he wishes to go, there is nothing better for man to do than to understand and obey Almighty God. God’s Holy Word is the very best answer to any question man may pose, and no improvement upon the Holy Scriptures is possible! In a manner of speaking, the old adage, “Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do or die” fits the bill perfectly and completely! So! What is man to do?
If a man wishes to do well in this life, and to inherit eternal life with God at the end of his earthly way, what should a man do? “And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30).
If a man wishes to establish a Christian home, what should he do? The first step in the full realization of this noble desire requires some things that must be done. (1) He must hear God’s Word (Romans 10:17), (2) He must believe the Gospel (Hebrews 11:6), (3) He must repent of all sins (Acts 17:30), (4) He must confess Christ as Lord (Philippians 2:11), (5) He must be baptized for remission of sins (Mark 16:16), (6) He must then live faithfully until death (Revelation 2:10).
If a man marries, what should he do? He should say with Joshua of old, “As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). What should a man do as regards his wife? “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25). In the same regard, wives must “submit themselves unto their own husbands, as unto the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22).
If God blesses the Christian home with children, what should a man do? “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).
If the children become unruly or disobedient, what should a man do? “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes” (Proverbs 13:24). “Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die” (Proverbs 23:13).
The man who would be pleasing to God will read and heed (2 John 9).
