Dear Crosswalkers,
Father's Day is a perfect time to speak about the manly virtue of courage. The great thinker C.S. Lewis said, "Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." His point is well taken; any virtue will fail in the face of trial, testing, pressure or stress if it is not upheld with courage.
In a recent article called "Stepping Up," Christian author Dennis Rainy tells of an encounter he had with the manager of a popular clothing store in a mall. He was there with his 13 year old daughter, who was shopping for a sweater. While browsing around, he couldn't help but notice a life-sized poster of a young man who was completely naked! Here's Rainey's account of his conversation with the store manager:
I shared with him that I had six children and was a good customer; then I said very kindly, "This picture … I'm sorry, but it's just indecent." I thought I'd get agreement.
Instead he quipped, "I beg to differ with you, sir. By whose standards?"
A little stunned by his response, I replied with measured firmness, "By any standard of real morality …. Sir, if that picture is not indecent, then I'd like you to get in a similar pose to that guy in the picture."
He looked at the picture, looked at my daughter, then back at me …. There was a moment of silence, full of anticipation. Then he shook his head and said, "Huh-uh."
I smiled and said, "You know, it's a good thing you didn't drop your pants, because you could have been arrested for indecent exposure."
Then he replied, "If you think that's bad, you should see our catalog."
So I went over and opened the catalog. One photo showed four teenage girls in bed with a boy …. I pushed the catalog back and said, "I'd like you take my name and phone number. I'd like someone from your corporate office to give me a call."
To which he politely said, "Sir, I can take your name and address, but they're not interested. They really don't care what you think."
My response was kind but firm: "I just want you to know I'm only one customer. I'm just a daddy of six kids, but I have a lot of friends. And I want you to know that wherever I go, I'm going to use this episode as an illustration of a company that doesn't care about the future of our young people, their morality, or the future of our nation."
It always takes a measure of courage to speak out against a wrong in our society. The safest and easiest thing to do is to simply let things be. But then how are we light in a dark world. Rainey wasn't being obnoxious, and he didn't come across as "holier than thou." He simply stated the truth. Rainey concluded this story with a challenge for us all, but especially to men:
One of the greatest lies of our day is that one man, one husband, or one dad can't make a difference. As a single man, you can protect the innocence of a single woman you are dating by being a noble man of character …. As a husband and father, you are the warrior who has been charged with the duty of pushing back against the evil that seeks to prey on your wife, daughters, and sons. Stepping up to courageous manhood starts here. If you don't step up, who will?
Who indeed?
This will be a great Father's Day weekend at Crosswalk! We have our Men's Breakfast on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. Then that evening we have "An Enchanted Evening with Daddy", our annual Father-Daughter Dance. Sunday morning we will honor the men in church with a gift, and the message is entitled, "Blessings of the Father." We will look at the way God the Father bestowed his blessing on his son, Jesus. Amazingly, this is the same blessing he wants to bestow on all of us!! At the same time we men will be challenged to impart blessings on others, especially those who are nearest and dearest to us.
I hope to see you in Church!
Faithfully yours,
Pastor John
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