Don’t Be Soft | Yesterday Was Easy - Episode 08

Ancient Greek historian Herodotus has been quoted as saying, Soft lands breed soft men.

I don't know if there could be a more accurate description of our land and the men it is currently breeding. Welcome to Yesterday Was Easy.

As the last remnants of the greatest generation and effects thereof slowly fade away into the corridors of time, we are left with the weak, selfish, and lazy brood of soft boys who can shave.

This effeminate generation of males looks for handouts like a hog looks for table scraps, lazily wallowing in the mud of their own creation, fattened by the ease of life that was established by our faithful founding fathers through the sacrifice of their own comforts, blood, and even their very lives.

These lifetime basement -dwelling gamers wouldn't know a two -by -four if it hit them upside the head.

The only thing they know how to build is a virtual fortress on Minecraft. The only calluses they have obtained on their hands strikingly resemble that of an

Xbox controller. The only enemy they know how to defeat is on the latest version of Halo.

Instead of building themselves up through prayer and the reading of the word in preparation for spiritual warfare, they strive tirelessly, both day and night, working diligently to beat the most recent edition of Call of Duty.

This is the plight we have in front of us, one that can only be defeated by raising up our young men in the light of the

Apostle Paul's admonition to act like men. All with Christ is our standard.

Our soft land is breeding soft men because of a soft church, and we have a soft church because of soft pastors.

If we expect our land to be strong once again and produce strong men, then we need a strong church.

And that must start with strong pastors once again leading the charge from their pulpits. Like Christ, we must be willing to get our hands dirty.

We need to quit our weekly golf games and learn how to bleed and sweat. We need to love our wives and our children as Christ loved his family, tirelessly, faithfully, and sacrificially.

We must intentionally train up our boys to be men who know what hard work looks like, who can design and build something from scratch, who aren't afraid to pull a splinter from their tired and worn hands, who can pick themselves up after being knocked down, bruised, and battered, who don't look for handouts, but find ways to better themselves.

And finally, humble men who respect authority. Our boys need to be anti -gamers, capable of building something real and defeating real enemies, and understanding the reality of spiritual warfare.

We must love and protect our daughters enough to never let them leave the house dressed like inner city prostitutes.

We must show them an example of what a godly man looks like so that they will look for that same type of man to love and respect as their future husbands.

We must give them the attention they deserve so that they won't seek value and worth in the wrong places and worthless men.

We must treasure and protect them as the valuable gifts from God that they are. We must love our wives as Christ loved the church, cherishing them and washing them in the water of the word.

Our wives want us to lead courageously and faithfully, so we must lead by putting to death our cowardice and faithlessness.

We must graciously shepherd them, treating them as delicate flowers and weaker vessels, giving them honor and adoration.

We must reject any temptations to rule over our households as demanding tyrants with an iron fist, but lead like Christ as a selfless servant king.

When faced with temptation by the enemy, we must know enough scripture to defeat him. When facing the accusers of the woke mob, we need to courageously look them in the eye, grounded on the principles of God's word.

Speaking of the greatest generation, one of my favorite superheroes is Captain America, because he represents so many of the principles

I desire to drive home with this show. This comic book champion symbolizes freedom, hard work, courage, loyalty, and selflessness, and holds to some vestige of biblical morality.

Captain America is the extreme opposite of soft. He is hard, and he stays hard, not just physically speaking, but emotionally and mentally as well.

One of my favorite quotes of his is from a pep talk he gave to Spider -Man in The Amazing Spider -Man issue number 537.

He said, doesn't matter what the press says, doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say, doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right.

This nation was founded on one principle above else, the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences.

When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth and tell the whole world, no, you move.

Now, just for the record, this line was delivered by Agent Carter in Captain America Civil War, but was originated with the captain himself.

The point is that not being soft means you courageously stand for truth no matter what, and no matter who is coming against you.

We must set our faces like flint towards persecution instead of cowardly running away and hiding in our spiritual bunkers.

If we're going to expect to be treated with respect, not only in our homes, but also in our churches and in the world, then we need to live as respectable men, and respectable men are watchful, they stand firm in the faith, and they are strong.

Finally, to tie everything together like a fine rug, I want to leave you with a quote for Major Dick Winters, a real life

World War II hero, whose life was the main focal point of one of my favorite series, Band of Brothers.

He said, the key to being a successful combat leader is to earn respect, not because of rank, but because you are a man.

If you want to know what courageous men once looked like, then be sure to watch this series. Our nation was once a strong nation because it bred strong men.

If you desire this once again, it starts with you, and it starts with me. It starts in our homes by raising up our boys in the admonition of the

Lord, teaching them to be honorable men of valor. It starts with you planting yourself like a mighty oak of Bashan, or a cedar from Lebanon next to the river of truth and telling the world, no, you move.