Honor her… (Proverbs 31:31, NIV)
My father-in-law passed away last Thursday morning.
He was 85 years old and in weakened health, so when a heart attack gripped his compromised system early the day before, he had little resistance available other than his normally strong will. It wasn’t enough.
Jim was one of those men who receive admiration from the rest of us. From humble beginnings, he worked hard, built his business, stretched his resources, found his wealth, and retired to Palm Desert, where for the first time in his life he could play golf regularly. Those are worldly measures of success, yes, but he was a man of integrity, driven by obligation and principle, like so many men of his era.
As my wife and I stood alone by his bedside in the moments after his death, she quietly told me of her prayers in those last hours, “I have been thanking God for the way my dad always cherished me. It is how I knew that there could be a ‘Prince Charming’ for me.”
The personal embarrassment of that “Prince Charming” part aside, I pray deeply that you recognize the wonder of my wife’s words, for she was speaking of the great power of men honoring women. It is a blazing beacon set against the tenor of our times, with its castoff reporting of the domestic ills of athletes, with its nonchalance toward pornography, with its Fifty Shades of Grey.
Fathers, grandfathers, brothers, sons, uncles—this is a call against your very flesh. It is not some glorified opportunity to be chivalrous; this is your role as a minister of Christ. This is your chance to speak words of life.
Just two summers ago, the leadership of Links Players and a few important guests sat down for a weekend in Williamsburg, Virginia. What transpired was unplanned, Spirit-led, tear-inducing, and transformative to our ministry. In a nutshell, we recognized that the venues where much of our work is done—country clubs and golf courses—all too often remain harbors of disparagement against women. As a ministry that claims and proclaims the name of Jesus, we could not stand by in the face of this behavior.
We’re not interested in entering club politics, per se. Rather, we’re talking about breaking into a culture of derision with words of honor. We’re talking about looking a woman in the eye and offering her the beautiful acceptance of Christ. We’re talking about doing the good works we were created to do.
—
Jeff Hopper
February 9, 2015
Copyright 2015 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.