Manly Men

PSALM 112
"Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in His commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor. The wicked man will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing." (NIV)

As I read this scripture today it struck me that this is God's idea of a manly man. He is a man who fears the Lord. He has no fear BECAUSE he trusts in the Lord. He is generous. He is gracious and compassionate and just. God blesses a godly man. Even his children will be mighty in the land and blessed. I am so blown away at how good God is. When a man is righteous, God does not just bless that man with the riches, wealth, peace, etc., he blesses the man's children. God is so good! We all have to deal with the effects of sin in our lives - the sin that is rampant in the fallen world, the past sins of our parents and past generations, and our own sins. BUT God blesses us when we live for Him. He can break the generational curses and replace them with His blessings!