This is the first of (what hopefully will be) many Man Code entries to my sons. My oldest son, Zeke, recently committed his life to Jesus and my continued goal is to shape him (and my other two boys) into godly young men. If you have sons that you are raising and discipling, please use (read and discuss) these Man Code entries with them!

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” 1 Corinthians 13:11

Son, this is going to come as no surprise, but you’re a male by birth. That’s how God made you. Every time you take a shower or use the restroom you’re reminded that God decided that you would be male long before you were ever born. But son, there is a difference between being a male and being a man. Being a male is God’s choice. It was made for you. Becoming a man is your choice. No one else can make it for you. I recently saw a buddy of mine with a t-shirt that said “male by birth, man by choice” and I think it perfectly captures what the Apostle Paul is trying to say in 1 Corinthians 13, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”

Paul knew that there was a time when he had to make a conscious decision to stop acting like a child and start acting like a man. It’s the same choice you’ll face, not one day when you graduate high school, get your first job or get married. And that’s the secret, son: you don’t become a man when you reach a certain age or achieve a certain milestone in life. You can be fifty years old and if you’ve never decided to grow up, you can still be immature and act like a kid. But in the same way, even at the age of eleven you can choose to stop acting like a child and start acting like a man.

Choosing to be a man is a choice you make every single day by the responsibility you take for your actions, how you treat those around you, how much work and effort you put into the task before you, whether that’s school work, a sports game or chores around the house. Being a man impacts how you treat your classmates, how you treat your siblings, how you treat your parents. Becoming a man means a lot of things, and that what these Man Code entries will attempt to teach you. Long ago, God told you everything you need to know about how to become the man of God you were created to be. It’s all in the Bible, and for each Man Code entry we’ll look at what God’s Word says about being the kind of man that makes a difference in his world. But never forget: becoming a man was, is, and always will be a choice, and no one can make that choice but you. You’re male by birth. Whether you ever become a man, that’s up to you.

QUESTION: What are some things that you could choose to do that would show you’re no longer a child anymore but becoming a true man?