by Michael Holland    

Recently, a real man stood up and did the right thing.  This could be just another story of a man doing what a man should do, except that it doesn’t happen very often, so this story stands out.  At our local high school football game last weekend, which was our homecoming game, we were kicking butt.  Late in the game, we were up 41 to 0, and the second and third strings were getting a chance to get their jerseys dirty.  Then it happened: a few maturity-challenged students started a racist-inspired chant at the opposing team.  More students joined in, the inappropriate chorus wafting across the field.

In a moment our head coach, Matt Shell, scaled a fence, ran to the top of the stands, and ducked into the announcing booth.  His words were quick yet poignant, and the noise stopped. The game continued after that, and for most of us this was just a small whisper in time.

But it wasn’t.  Because something important happened there: a man stood up.  I believe that had Matt been in the middle of Walmart and saw or heard something inappropriate, he would have stood up there as well, because he’s an honorable man.  We see and know of his standing up because of the exposure his role provides, but men like Matt don’t stand up because of the exposure. They stand up because that’s what honorable men do.

We need more men to stand up and be men.  To be honorable, protective, and loving. To just be how God made them to be.  Joshua 1:9 says we should “. . . be strong and courageous. . .”, and our local community and broader society would be much better off is a few good men would just stand up and do the right thing.

You’ll know when you’re supposed to stand up.  That small voice in your heart will tell you, and in a moment you will make a decision that has extraordinary consequences.  Will you or I stand as a man?  I hope so.  I pray so.