There is a major difference between being a male, a man, and a real man. The difference is measured in degrees, not titles, academic achievement, trophies, or assigned positions of authority. The real difference is easily recognized whenever one comes into contact with a real man. He is just different in a very positive way. There is a certain “something” about a real man that is significantly different about them as compared with the attributes of just an ordinary run-of-the-mill male.
One word I believe clearly defines what a real man possesses that regular (average) other men do not possess….A real man is filled with constant, all-of-the-time,…“Gumption,” whereas average men do not possess this vital character trait. It is very important for you to realize that Gumption is developed. It is not passed through the gene pool of life…you are not born with it. It is caught more than taught. It is a “secret weapon” when competing against other males in the struggle for accomplishment, achievement, and significance.
Gumption is defined in the Webster’s New World Dictionary of the English Language as follows:
1. Shrewdness in practical matters; common sense.
2. Courage and initiative; enterprise and boldness; the current sense.
So gumption is a personal characteristic that a person shows and displays. He uses or exhibits shrewdness (street smarts) in all of his dealings while simultaneously living in the “Now” of life and its events,… always taking the initiative (first step) in boldly addressing the pending issues that require resolution. In other words, a Real Man leads the charge without reluctance, fear, or doubt. He is a take charge person and completes all that he starts.
How do you, sir, stack up against that definition and description?
We don’t hear much about gumption anymore in most of today’s society. That truth is really too bad since we need it more than ever these days.
As a child, I grew up on a daily dose of gumption. My U S Navy Chief earthly father drilled “guts and gumption” into each of we three children every day in all that we did or were given to do. Thank God I did not have a wimp for a Dad. Since it was infused into my life while I was still a child, I have endeavored to do the same to my three children. Oh I will tell you that many other males (and some females) criticize me for being too demanding and too tough on other people including my own family. I can only say that strength is built when strength is demanded and required. Life is tough. It is not fair. Living it to the fullest requires strength,…mental as well as physical. Such strength is built when it is fed a daily meal of gumption!
One of the greatest strengths and powers in life on earth is Father Power. Such power is derived from the male (Man) of the house. The man who is given charge by God Almighty to meet and fill all of his family’s needs!
Author, Robert Persig, had it totally right when he discussed what true gumption really represents. He stated:
“I like the word gumption because it’s so homely and so forlorn and so out of style it looks as if it needs a friend and isn’t likely to reject anyone who comes along. It’s an old Scottish word, once used a lot by pioneers, but…seems to have all but dropped out of use…
A person filled with gumption doesn’t sit around dissipating and stewing about things. He’s at the front of the train of his own awareness, watching to see what’s up the track and meeting it when it comes.”
Mr. Persig goes on with his discussion of gumption applying it to life itself. He masterfully hides his comment behind the word picture of repairing a motorcycle:
“If you are going to repair a motorcycle, an adequate supply of gumption is the first and most important tool. If you haven’t got that you might as well gather up all the other tools and put them away, because they won’t do you any good.
Gumption is the psychic gasoline that keeps the whole thing going. If you haven’t got it, there’s no way the motorcycle can possibly be fixed. But if you have got it and know how to keep it, there’s absolutely no way in the whole world that motorcycle can keep from getting fixed. It’s bound to happen. Therefore the thing that must be monitored at all times and preserved before anything else,…is gumption.”
It is a real shame that the old word, Gumption, has dropped through the cracks, especially since quitting is now more popular than is finishing. I agree with Mr. Persig, who would like to start a whole new academic field on the subject. Of course, one must always keep in mind that gumption will never actually be taught. It is just one of those things that is better caught. Gumption is a personal character trait. It is woven subtly into the fabric of a person’s life that few ever stop and identify it. It is hidden like the steel rebar in huge concrete columns supporting multi-lane freeways. Although while gumption may be hidden, it is an important tool for getting a job done…
Gumption enables us to save money rather than to spend every dime we make. It keeps us working at a hard task, like building a tedious model or completing and finishing an add-on or makeover or practicing piano or losing weight–and keeping it lost–or reading the Bible all the way through in a year’s time. Most people receive a little gumption in their “birth tool box,” but it is a tool that gathers rust very quickly. Permit me to give you five easy remedies for renewing your own power wrench of personal gumption:
1. Gumption begins with a firm commitment. Daniel “made up his mind” ( Dan 1 : 8 ) long before he was dumped into a Babylonian labor camp. Joshua didn’t hesitate to declare his commitment in his famous “as for me and my house” speech ( Josh 24 : 15 ) before the Israelis. Isaiah says he “set his face like flint” ( Is 50 : 7 ), which really says he firmly decided. Instead of starting with a bang, it is human nature to ponder, to rethink, to fiddle around with an idea until it is awash with slime and the stagnant water putrid plant growth known as indefiniteness of purpose. There is an old recipe for a rabbit dish that
starts out, “First, catch the rabbit.” That always puts first things first. No rabbit, no dish. If you truly want your gumption to continue through to the end? Start strong!
2. Gumption means being disciplined one day at a time. Rather than focusing on trying to swallow the whole enchilada, take it in small bite-sized chunks. Taking in the whole of any objective, dream, or goal in one fell swoop can overwhelm even the most courageous warriors. Writing a book? Do so one page at a time. Trying to master a new language? Try one word at a time. There are 365 days in the average year. Divide any project by 365 and none of them will then seem all that intimidating, will they? To master any plan or project, it will take daily discipline…just as discussed in Proverbs 19 : 27,…not annual discipline.
3. Gumption includes being alert to subtle temptations. Robert Persig, as referenced above, discussed our being at the front of the train of our own awareness, looking up the track and being ready to meet whatever comes. Gumption plans ahead…watching out for associations that may weaken us ( Prov 13 : 20 ), procrastination that steals from us (Prov 24 : 30–34) and rationalizations that lie to us ( Prov 13 : 4; 25 : 28 ). People who achieve their personal goals always stay alert. Satan, our adversary, is a master strategist, forever fogging up our minds with smoke screens, which “thicken” our senses. If it were possible for God to die and He died this morning, some people wouldn’t know it for three or four days. Gumption stabs us awake, and keeps us wide-eyed and ready to perform at the snap of a finger or the drop of a hat.
4. Gumption requires the encouragement of accountability. Most people–especially close personal friends–keep our tanks pumped full of enthusiasm. They communicate “You can do it, you can make it” in a dozen different ways. At David’s lowest point, Jonathan stepped in. Right when Elijah was ready to give up,…to cash in everything,..along came Elisha. With Paul was Timothy…or Silas or Barnabas or Dr. Luke. People need other people, which is why Solomon came on so strong about iron sharpening iron ( Prov 27 : 17 ).
5. Gumption comes more easily when we remember that finishing has its own unique rewards. Jesus told the Father He “accomplished” His assignment ( John 17 : 4 ). On more than one occasion Paul referred to “finishing the course” ( Acts 20 : 24; 2 Timothy 4 : 7 ). Those who only start projects never know the surge of satisfaction that comes with slapping hands together, wiping away those beads of perspiration, and saying that beautiful four-letter word, Done! Desire accomplished is sweet to the soul.
The single most important quest in any person’s life is the desire to have the character of Christ formed within you! I certainly hope and pray you are under way to achieve that very thing. If your journey seems extra long today, look for, find, and then enjoy a gust of wind at your back from these words out of the Living Bible. It is one of those grab-you-by-the scruff-of-the-neck and shake-you-up Scriptures:
“…let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and quit.”
Galatians 6 : 9
Be a Real Man And Always Act Like One…………………