HAVE YOU CONSIDERED...

(Dr. French O'Shields is a Gaffney native and retired Presbyterian minister.) It seemed a perfect day for fishing as our outboard motorboat left the dock at Zihautenajo, Mexico, a small village on the Pacific coast. The sun was shining brightly, no rain was predicted and both the wind and waves were relatively calm. On board were our friends Jim and Susan from Dallas, Susan's mother, my wife, Alma, myself and the Mexican boat captain and his first mate. This was our fourth day to go out and had success catching numerous 15- to 20-lb. fish of various kinds.

Today was to be different. Our plan was to go at least seven miles off shore to what is called the "blue water" and try for the big blue marlin. Since a young boy when my grandaddy and daddy took me fishing at Broad River, I have been an ardent fisherman. But never had I attempted such a venture as this.

The night before, I had met an affluent businessman from Pittsburgh who told me he had fished every day for a week on a wellequipped boat to catch a blue marlin. His best catch was a couple of sailfish weighing 70 lbs. each, but not a single blue marlin. Disappointed, the next day he was flying home.

After reaching the blue water, I watched the first mate prepare two rods with bait fish. With anticipation that far exceeded my knowhow, I took one of the rods, my male friend the other. The bait with a shiny silver teaser attached, trailed the boat by some 250 feet.

Eagerly but patiently I awaited some action. Suddenly, I saw the water explode, but felt nothing on my rod. Obviously a strike, but the fish missed the bait. An immediate second strike followed, but another miss. The third time, a hit. Suddenly my grief turned into joy as my reel began to sound like a siren as the fish set sail for distant waters.

"It is a big blue marlin," the captain yelled. "Let him run. Just hold on tightly!"

Hold on tightly I did. With his fierce charges there were times I was less concerned about boating the "big one" as I was preventing him from pulling me overboard. As I tried to reel in some line between his charges, numerous times he came up out of the water and danced on his tail. What a magnificent and thrilling sight! Two hours later, after much prayer, total exhaustion, and both hands bleeding, a 306-lb., 11-foot-long blue marlin was in the boat.

When I told my experienced fishermen friends on the South Carolina coast of my feat with only a rod and reel without gloves or any sophisticated equipment, they thought I had fabricated a great fish story. Fortunately I had visual documentation that proved my catch. This event, plus the degree to which they were impressed, did wonders for my male ego. Finally I had arrived as a "REAL MAN."

My ego trip was short-lived when I realized I was using the world's standards to judge myself a real man. Subjectively, I knew I was no more a real man after the catch than before. There are few things in which there is greater discrepancy than the difference between the world's view and God's view of what makes a real man. The world view, largely formulated by the entertainment and advertising industries, is basically deception. Only God's view is reality.

The Biblical truth is a male is a real man when: He believes in and accepts God and His Son Jesus Christ (Ps. 14:1) ...He has his priorities in line with God's order (Matt. 6:33) ...He, if married, sacrificially loves his wife and disciplines his children but in love (Eph. 5:25, 6:4) ...He has a Godly purpose for his life (Phil. 3: 7-11) ...He perseveres under trials (James 1:12) ...He has courage because of his trust in God (I Sam. 17) ...He is willing to express his appropriate emotions. Pity the man who thinks real men do not cry. Jesus did (John 11:33) ...He knows he is not perfect or sinless but knows what to do when he has sinned: confession, repentance, seeking and receiving forgiveness from God and others (Psalm 51).

One of my most unforgettable experiences occurred after I transferred to USC. As a junior I was not required to take physical education classes with the freshmen but because I like it I received permission to do so. The first class the coach had the 100-plus in the class to sit down on the gym floor, then shared these words: "I know, some of you think to be a Christian is to be a sissy and not a real man. Well, I want you to know that I am a Christian and devoted to living for Jesus Christ. Now if you think that makes a man a sissy, I now invite anyone or any group of you to come try to take me to the floor."

Total silence. No takers. Not a single person moved even to scratch their nose or ear, fearing their movement would be misconstrued. Then the coach spoke again, "Now I hope you know being a Christian is not being a sissy, I hope each of you will, if you haven't already, accepted Jesus and give Him your life and become a Christian and a real man."

The main male characters of the Bible were real men both in the Old and New Testaments. They faced hardships, suffering and death as only real men can do. Jesus was a man's man, the most real man that has or will ever live. Men, if you desire to be a REAL MAN, pattern yourself after Jesus. Make Him your role model. Do not allow anyone to squeeze you into the world's image for those who do are the real sissies.