Father's Day Resolution: Be a Hero!

The world desperately needs heroes, and you can be one. You don't have to be an athletic, entertainment, or political celebrity to be a real hero. By simply using your masculine strengths to fulfill your biblical calling as a man, you can make the world a better place for your wife, family, and community. Starting this Father's Day, realize there's no more powerful way to live than to be a man of honor doing God's will. 

Here are some ways you can be a real hero:

• Decide that you want to serve others, no matter what the cost. Believe that God wants to use your life for great redemptive purposes in the world. Know that God will give you all the grace you need to serve in whatever ways He calls you. Commit to pursue a lifestyle of service.

• Give the Bible and the Holy Spirit authority over your life. Read and rely on God's Word as your guidebook for life, and let the Holy Spirit govern you.

• Be a provider. Understand that your role as a provider encompasses far more than just earning a good paycheck. Also consider your family's welfare in other areas, such as their health, education, and relationships. Never make a decision solely on the basis of how it will affect your finances. Instead, carefully think about how the issue - like a move to take a new job, for example - will affect all aspects of your family's life. Seriously consider your wife and children's input. Pray for discernment.

• Be a pastor. Realize that you are the "pastor" of your family. Strive to create a stable, secure family life that is marked by peace, respect, and love. Develop a vital, growing relationship with Christ so you can model holiness in your home. Do whatever you can to encourage your family to grow spiritually as well.

• Be a protector. Be aware that women's top four needs from men are security, affection, relationship, and stability. Seek to meet those needs. Pay attention to your wife when she talks to you. Value her thoughts and feelings when you make decisions. Give her non-sexual, physical affection (such as hugs) on a regular basis. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you self-control so you can live a sexually pure life, faithful to your wife in every way. Treat women with respect, seeking to meet their needs without any ulterior motive. Seek the best interests of your friends and family members above your own.

• Be a patriarch. Strive to be a leader in your family and community. Ask God to help you live the kind of life that everyone you know can look to for inspiration. Be willing to make commitments and keep them with courage and integrity. Speak out for what you believe in so that others will have the chance to come to faith. Constantly look for opportunities to give generously to others. Consider the legacy you'd like to leave on earth, and work toward that. Remember that your good deeds will echo into eternity, affecting both the lives of those you leave behind and your own rewards in heaven.


Adapted from Man of Honor: How to Be a Hero to the Woman in Your Life , copyright 2004 by Jim Coté. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Ill., www.ivpress.com.


Jim Coté is founder and president of Master's Men. He is also team chaplain for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. A business management graduate of Le Tourneau University, he has served on the boards of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and World Impact. In addition to conducting chapel services for many professional sports teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, the Arizona Cardinals, the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers, he is the author of Man of Influence and coauthor (with William Hendricks) of On the Road Again.