Strength

Manly Christian Trait #1

By Paladin Actual of “Christian Combatives”

Masculinity is the pursuit manliness, and man is made in the image of God. So true masculinity is the pursuit of Godliness, not in self-deification, but in honor of God and striving to reflect those good traits he shines on the world.

Today we’ll be talking about the manly Christian trait of Strength.

When I say Strength, I don’t mean strength of heart, strength of will, strength of character. Maybe I’ll talk about those later, but today I’m talking straight up physical strength; fitness.

I’m talking “Where’s the Beef?”, hulked out, shredded up, stacked, ripped, yoked. I’m talking your best PR, your one rep max. I’m talking fastest lap around the track, highest weight pressed off the rack, high test, beast mode, “Vegeta what the scouter say about his power level?!”. I’m talking sun’s out, guns out; sky’s out, thighs out, truly Brolic, anabolic. Straight. Up. Strength.

Physical strength is only a partial reflection of God’s full and perfect strength, but as such it is a virtuous trait for Christians. Manly Christian strength is a dim reflection of God’s full power, but every ounce of strength within a Christian, properly understood, glorifies God and points to Him.

First and foremost, anyone who strives to be strong must first acknowledge that their strength is in the LORD, you cannot achieve any physical strength without it being given from God, and any degree of physical strength should not glorify the individual, but glorify God who epitomizes strength.

Exodus 15:2 says
The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

God is the fullness of strength for every believer. If you trust only in your own strength, you trust in something limited, if your faith is in the strength of God, you trust in something perfect, eternal, and omnipotent.

God is described regularly in the Bible as the source of our strength, and strong in His own right. Psalm 89:13 says about God:

You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand.

In fact, there are many places in the Bible that talk about the strength of God’s arm, a common English translation of this phrase is “God’s right arm” or “God’s right hand”.

The strength of God is something we couldn’t hope to fathom, but anyone who has seen the impressive strength of powerful men can only imagine how much more impressive the strength of God must be.

Culturally, we often idealize strength. Superman, Goku, or any other number of fictional characters capture the attention of boys and men around the world. Every culture has its examples of heroes who are strong beyond human capacity. Little John, Popeye, Heracles; the world is full of stories of virtue exemplified through physical strength.

One real world example of this is, of course, Samson.

Unlike those fictional examples, Samson was a real man, a Judge over Israel dedicated to God. Samson was not a perfect hero, far from it. He was rash, had a temper, and acted foolishly. But his defining characteristic was raw physical strength.

His tragic downfall, in summary, was a result of his arrogance, his lack of faith in God, and instead his trust in his own ability. He lost sight of the God who gave him such great strength, and as a consequence, he lost sight entirely, and lost that gift of strength.

But while Samson forgot God, God never forgot Samson. In the final moments of his life, Samson again returned his trust in the source of his great strength, and called upon the God of Strength in faith once again.

He was selected by God to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines, to be a judge over Israel, and by capturing and mocking the once-strong Samson, the Philistines were mocking the God and people he was called to represent.

The God of Samson, the God of Strength, however, had the last word. The strength which overpowered Samson in his sin was overpowered in turn by the Strength of God.

Judges 16 records this:

Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.” And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.” And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained.

Then Samson called to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.

The story of Samson was one story of a fraction of God’s Strength being given literally to a single man. That strength was a virtue when it was used with faith in God and to the glory of God. This masculine trait of strength was given as a miraculous gift to Samson, but is no less an indicator of God’s glory when it is achieved through physical fitness.

Samson was not the only character in the Bible known for his strength. Both Saul and Goliath were larger, and presumably stronger than all of those around them. But both of them failed to be masculine; not honoring God with their strength, but acting shamefully and sinfully. They did not act out their masculinity in their strength, because there is no strength without God to direct it.

David, on the other hand, showed clearly that God’s strength in a youth is greater than man’s strength in a warrior.

While we can look to God’s strength as an ideal to aim for, each man is at a different state in their journey and a different final capacity.

Not everyone can bench-press a truck like Samson, but that doesn’t mean that each man shouldn’t value fitness as it looks in their life with their capability.

Paul describes self-control, even fitness, in 1 Corinthians 9, he writes:

Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

So the Biblically masculine, physical strength includes discipline. Training physically, lifting weights, going on walks, doing aquatic exercises, or even eating right. The Christian should strive, even when he fails, to discipline and care for his body rather than be ruled by the passions and fall into gluttony or sloth.

Our bodies are not our own to destroy or let fall apart.  In Romans 12 Paul writes:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

In your actions consider that your body is a sacrifice to God, a living sacrifice. With His sacrifice for our sake, we should desire to maintain our bodies as well as we can for living sacrifices to Him in gratitude.

Likewise in 1 Corinthians 6, Paul reminds us this:

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Your body is a sacrifice to God, but also a temple. A dwelling place of God that you should want to keep as nice as possible.

With these examples and these verses in mind, hopefully you agree that you are made in the image of God, and God is strong. Strength is a masculine trait that He has, and that He gives in love. It is a good thing to be strong, so long as you remember that your strength comes from the Lord, and that He is to be praised for all you can accomplish with this gift He gives you.

God bless you all and take care!