Thank You Great Men!

I have to admit, my friends and I are used to bashing men. "Men are pigs!", "I hate men!", "Men never learn!", "Men are so insensitive!", "Men are so selfish!" We hear these statements a lot, we even say these words ourselves.  On one end, who can blame us? Pretty much all of us girls have at one point or another felt hurt, led-on, used, and rejected by our more primitive counterpart. (Haha! I'm doing it now!)

Despite the presence of jerks around us, and there are some really big jerks (Believe us, stay away from them!), we've found a lot of great men too, and it's unfair to lump them all in one category. Yet, when I thought about this, I wondered, "What is a great man?"

A man who loves God and loves others. This is really where it starts. A man who loves God and loves others is too busy to be selfish. Too many times, and I am guilty of this, our appreciation of men starts out with how they look, in other words, their face, their body, their clothes, their accessories, their toys, and their status. None of these things are bad, who doesn't like good looking guys? The problem is when this is what we find most attractive, because this means that we'll be inclined to be attracted to guys who are spending a lot of time on their face, their body, their clothes, their accessories, their toys, and their status.

What's so bad about that?

It's all about them. When men are all about themselves, when men are selfish, they will be terrible friends, boyfriends, brothers, husbands, and fathers. They'll be terrible people. Selfish people inevitably suck out the life from others. If you know guys who are good looking, stylish, and materially blessed, great! But don't ever ever judge a book by its cover.

No wonder there are so many broken girls with broken hearts. We fell for a beautiful shell. We gave our love to someone who is too empty inside to truly love us back.

Also remember that the order is important. A man who loves God FIRST then others. A man who loves God first will have convictions, and if he fails, he'll run back to those convictions. A man who loves others first will try to please others at any cost. A man pleaser is not a sign of a great man. In fact, be careful of smooth operators. These are guys who invest so much in looking good outwardly but haven't really worked on growing internally.

Encourage your guy friends to learn, to grow their minds, their hearts, and their souls, not just their physiques and bank accounts. It's much more meaningful to be with men with depth, who truly love God enough to seek Him, who are humble enough to repent when wrong, and who genuinely care for your well-being, not your attraction.

As I thought about this further, I realized I actually have a dad, a brother and guy friends who are wonderful. These are men who don't belong in the "guy" stereotype. They have actually shown genuine care for my well-being. I can't help but appreciate them more now, and I'm grateful to God for the men in our lives who have led us to fight negative emotions such as unforgiveness, rejection, and grumbling, who remind us to go to God, who encourage us to work harder, to be more disciplined, to not allow ourselves to be limited, and who have really been instrumental in helping us become better versions of ourselves.

Some of my Favorite Guys

On behalf of us women, I'd like to take this time to appreciate the great men in our lives.

Thank you for the friendship you offer and bearing with our inconsistencies, fickleness and brain farts.

Thank you for lightening up the mood with the remarks you make and the jokes you share.

Thank you for the little things you do that we often take for granted like opening the door for us, letting us get food first, offering your seat to us and picking us up and bringing us home.

Thank you for allowing us to turn to you for prayer and advise.

Thank you for supporting our girly endeavours like our need to have dessert, joining us for chick flicks, waiting for us while we shop and listening to our dreams as well as our drama.

Thank you for exercising our mind by the insights you share. Sorry for all the yawning!

Thank you for leading us by being a great example on how you carry out your businesses, your work, how you treat your family and your devotion to God.

Thank you for treating us with respect by acknowledging the importance of our role as women.

Thank you for bringing out the best version of ourselves by leading us to live a life of purpose.

Thank you for your courage in doing the right thing and admitting your short-comings.

Thank you for setting a standard to the men we want to spend our lives with.

Thank you for giving us hope that our sons and grandsons have men to look up to.