57 - 12 Movements of a Man's Life #7: A Man Knows What is Worth Dying For

The "Living with Heart" Podcast is brought to you by Chip Dodd Resources (www.chipdodd.com) and The Voice of the Heart Center (vothcenter.com). Contact Bryan Barley for coaching at bryan@vothcenter.com. 

A man knows what is worth dying for, because he knows what is worth living for. 

• He can give and offer his life to what matters to him because he knows what he is living for. 

• He consistently offers his competence and care to the love, the cause, and the mission he is living for.

• He desires to offer himself as a source of love to the people he loves.

• He lives with passion, which is a willingness to be in pain for something that matters more than pain.

Because a man has entrusted himself to God’s order (as discussed in episode #50, Movement #1), he draws his strength and courage from God. He has a passion that is purposed, and he forms plans of fulfillment accordingly.

Passion >>> Purpose >>> Plan >>>

In reference to Plans, they are as big as the Passion. This means that a man continues to rely on God, because just as his passion is “bigger” than he is, so are the plans that he makes to fulfill the passion. For example, a father, in his old age, wants to see his children living fulfilling and purposeful lives; however, if his children live into old age and live a fulfilled life, he will certainly pass away without seeing the fulfillment of his plans.

Olympians are good examples of expressions of passion with a purpose. They give themselves to something worth being in pain over. Olympians are not a special breed, though very often they are uniquely gifted with certain specific giftings that they multiply with passion and purpose. In other words, we are all meant to be Olympians. We are all meant to give ourselves to something worth being in pain over.

We are all created to give ourselves to something greater than ourselves; this is an expression of being fully alive: producing, creating, shaping, planting, growing, and pursuing.

The man who grasps what is worth dying for invests in so much more than just his name being remembered. He invests in what outlasts him, without the focus on just his name being remembered or honored.

Goel is the Hebrew word for a man who is an image-bearer of God in a way that distinguishes him from a woman. Goel literally means, “kinsman-redeemer.”

A Redeemer is defined by the following actions: A man is created by God to grow into one who relates to others needs, pains, and problems. He steps into life’s struggles to bring fulfillment, healing, and solutions. He creates security so that others are “free to grow” into who God created them to be. 

Jesus is the example of the ultimate kinsman-redeemer. Another example is Boaz in the book of Ruth. A Redeemer actually “ransoms” others from painful struggles.

A man is called to be a:

• Redeemer

• Protector

• Provider

Tragically, men are often mis-taught to only invest their worth in being good providers who can protect their families and property. Often these men accidentally become people who expect to be rewarded for their performances, rather than being valued for their understanding of a fuller love. 

They often indebt their families with demands based upon their own accomplishments, usually money and things.

The tragedy is that the man becomes a Provider who will Protect, and then considers those two things the “Redeemer.”

This is the inverse of God’s creation and intention.

Provider         vs      Redeemer

Protector       vs       Protector

Redeemer      vs      Provider

The man who doesn’t grasp what is worth dying for, usually unintentionally, turns God’s order into his own order, and he misses much of who he was created by God to become.

A man is called to become a Redeemer who will Protect and Provide.

No man is ever going to be perfect, but every man is created and called to step into the role of Goel. Of course, every man will have to struggle, even “fumble, stumble, and bumble” his way into the future. This awareness and humility actually increase a man’s understanding of every child he is called to help, every man he cares about, and the woman he has chosen.

A man who values being a provider over being a redeemer is off course:

• Everyone he claims to love will suffer. 

• Others who need him are actually “stranded” with having to “prop up” the man’s ego, rather than truly share their hearts with him.

• Others who need him never have the sanctuaries of safety and goodness that we all need. (Episode #26, “Becoming a Portable Sanctuary”)

A man who knows what is worth dying for questions himself and his own heart because he knows what is worth living for.  He asks some significant questions:

• What am I living for?

• What is my “What For?”

• What and Who really matter to me?

• Does my family really matter to me?

• How much time do I spend with the people I love?

• How much of my true presence do others see?

• Do I keep everything shallow so that I appear a certain way?

• What kind of a world am I leaving behind for people I love?

• Am I actually benefitting the world beyond my own family?

• What am I doing to redeem the world?

A man who grasps what is worth dying for knows what is worth living for, and he gives what he has received. 

A man who knows that he has needed mercy, gives mercy. A man who has received grace, gives grace. 

A man who knows that God loves him, gives the love of God to others.