There was a man watching the end of a close playoff game, and his young son came up to him wanting his attention. There wasn’t much time left in the game, so the dad, thinking quickly, came up with an idea to keep his son occupied until the game was over.

He took a page out of a magazine, which had a large picture of the world on it. He then tore it into much smaller pieces, and challenged his son to see if he could put it back together.

Happily, the son took all of the pieces and sat down at the table and began working.

Surprisingly, he rushed back to his dad with the world all taped together correctly. Shocked, his dad asked him how he was able to put the world together so quickly.

“Oh, it was easy!” said his son “There was a picture of a man on the other side, so I just put the man together, and when the man was together, then the world was together.”

If you want to fix many of the problems in your life, focus on you and the fundamentals or absolute essentials, and you may be surprised to discover how much your “world” is together once you are.

As adults, we see the complexity in life and in all kinds of situations and circumstances.

Sometimes, you need a simpler perspective.

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 18:3

We can often make things too complex and miss what’s right in front of us.

You can spend time putting out fires, fixing this or that, working on who knows what, and all the while, the simple solution is to fix you.

As a man:

Put God first and your walk with Him.

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” – Matthew 22:37-40

Find a mission and pursue it.

This takes priority, and should be part of your walk with God.

Excel at what you do.

“And whatsoever ye do, do [it] heartily, as to the Lord” -Colossians 3:23

“Seest thou a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” – Proverbs 22:29

Be amazingly fit and healthy.

You might be surprised how much this plays a role in many aspects of life.

A tired, unhealthy person will react in ways that are often ungodly, as the least little things can agitate or set them off, whereas a man in great health and strong in mind and spirit can face the same adversity much easier.

Likewise, being fit and attractive is an important part of success in various aspects of life. A friend of mine calls it “the lifeblood of relationships” and while we can argue over degrees, he’s not wrong.

Let’s just say it can (and often does) play a significant role. And not only in dating and marriage, but studies show fitness and attraction can help in hiring and promotion, not to mention self confidence.

And speaking of…

Be strong, assertive and confident

It’s a hallmark of men.

It’s appealing to women.

It’s a big factor in making your future more prosperous.

And God commands courage, strength and showing yourself a man.

“Stand fast in the faith, act like men, be strong.” – 1 Corinthians 16:13

“Only be strong and very courageous;” – Joshua 1:7

And if you’re pursuing the other essentials, this one will become much easier.

Remember, put the man together, and when the man is together, the world will be together.

Cross posted from here Fix the man, fix the world