“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Genesis 2:15
Since the beginning of time, men were called to tend, care for, protect, and nurture their fields. Not simply referring to home improvement projects, but taking care of all aspects of life including their family’s needs and personal health.
Stephen Mansfield expands on this key principle for men in the pursuit of true biblical manhood.
“For every phase of a man’s life; teenage, college, early marriage, children, etc., a man has a field assigned him; a total body of responsibilities and obligations that he has. They’re not all just duties and honey do’s, they’re also taking care of himself, making sure he’s having fun with his friends and making sure he’s wooing his wife or his girlfriend.”
“As men, we need to be knowing what the field assigned to us is. In my opinion, this is how a man really steps up in authority, this is how he grows and increases. He stands guard over everything that’s in this field, he makes sure it fulfills its destiny and makes sure it’s healthy. That includes taking care of themselves.”
With Adam being the first example, many men since have fallen into the pattern being irresponsible and losing sight of their field. Stephen shares an image of the irresponsible man,
“He’s sitting in his recliner in his sweat-stained clothes and he screaming for somebody to bring him a beer before the second half begins. In the meantime, his house is falling down around his ears; his daughter’s off with somebody named Spike on a motorcycle, his son’s upstairs in front of the computer doing something his father doesn’t know anything about. The wife’s angry and bitter and the father’s responsible for all that.”
“He is meant to be tending all of that, making sure everything is nurtured and fulfills its destiny.”
When you tend to the field that is before you, you are able to fulfill your calling as a man while bringing honor and glory to God.
Stephen Mansfield is a New York Times bestselling author and a popular speaker who also leads a media training firm based in Washington, DC. He is author of several books including .
A Biblical call to manhood
