The Way of the Fruit


In yesterday's post, I reflected on the story of Adam and his epic fail in Genesis in light of defining authentic manhood in my own life.  Today, I want to focus on the fruit: a deadly combination of desire and destruction.  Adam's demise stemmed from a false security that the fruit (or any substance) could bring Him pleasure outside of God. There are men who live their entire lives under the same premise. We call it "The Way of the Fruit".

These men peruse life as childish consumers, believing that the world exists for their pleasure. They move from one fix to the next, mindlessly investing their time & money into excessive hobbies.  They will often buy whatever they want or find a means to, giving into the marketers who sell one false illusion of manhood after another. I don't have to reach any further than my shower to pick up a bottle of Axe shampoo to find this. On the back of  the bottle is a silhouette of a man with a woman on each side. It's shampoo for crying out loud!

The further down this road they go, the more destructive their obsessions become. Ultimately, it leads to using people to further their own means and an incredibly distorted view of priorities. They will trade in precious time with their spouse or family to play the latest video game for hours on end, neglecting those around them and themselves.  Bills go unpaid while the latest gadget sit around their homes. It is a very destructive path.

In other words, these men simply live to consume, when they were created to create & cultivate.

And sadly, this defines my own life, especially in the first years of my marriage. At the age 21, I was married with a newborn in our house. We barely made ends meet financially, often relying on family & friends to pay the bills. My escape was in video games. I played every free moment I had, leaving my wife to take care of the baby and eventually toddler by herself. Gone were the conversations that grew us together; those moments of discovering each other were thrown out the window because I was childish, foolish, and less than a man.  Looking back, I am ashamed of my behavior and neglect of her. Living in her constant graces for not walking out on me.

The Way of the Fruit was not for me. What about you reader? Ever found yourself there?

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