Action Over Apathy

Sometimes the simple feedback sticks with you the most. 

It can be hard to believe. Especially in a culture where the most eloquent men are typically the ones pictured on our screens and propped up on our stages. But I’m starting to think that a side effect of sitting with men as we do is learning to value a simple statement that we can remember when we need it. 

I received this very feedback months ago sitting in the barbershop at group, reflecting on and reciting how the past few days had tied my mind into a pretzel. 

I was confused. I was underslept. I was overstimulated. 

When I finished, I was met by two things that seem to go hand in hand: a moment of silent understanding and feedback from Joe Barlow.

He reminded me, as he often does, that “real men engage.”

We do not sit and wait for life to come to us. We do not eject from confrontation. We do not allow ourselves to sit idle mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. 

Thank God for Joe.

I needed to hear this on that night to flip the off switch before I chose flight over fight. But the more I have recited this to myself over time the more relevant it has become even when things are not as dramatic. Maybe even more so. 

I have realized that the calm times are when I am lulled to sleep. I grow apathetic when things are all good and I only spring into action when I need to alleviate an acute pain. 

Recently though, I have been pairing Joe’s words with those of the apostle Peter as a reminder:

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.

1 Peter 1:13-14 (NLT)

I don’t want to leave my obedience up to chance. I want to act out of the grace that Jesus has shown me. 

Simply put: I want to engage correctly. And that requires preparation. 

The Hangar hopes to be an asset in this preparation through resources like our regular meetings, the new podcast, and these weekly journals. 

But I would encourage you to exhaust every resource, having no embarrassment when it comes to the lengths you will go to be the man God designed you to be. 

Join a S.E.A.L. team. Join a Life Group. Join a church if that is your starting point. 

Whatever that step is for you, choose action over ambivalence. Engage. Thanks again, Joe.