Protect and Provide

It’s not about you…..

That’s right, it’s not about you at all.  Whether you’re married or not.  A politician or not.  A leader or not.  Nothing is about you!

I am reminded of the quote by retired MSG Terry Schappert  “It’s not about you.  It’s never been about you.  It’s about the man to your left and right.  It’s about your team, your family, your nation.”

If you’ve ever been in the military you know this.  You may not have even realized what was actually happening, but very shortly into basic training the drill sergeant snatched the “me” right out of you with speed and violence of action.  Typically in the beginning of basic training, there is mass punishment.  You do hundreds of pushups for something stupid somebody else did.  This is to instill cohesion and teamwork.  It is intended to erase the selfishness of “me” and develop the selflessness of  “we”.  Now I realize that most people join the military because of a personal reason or goal, heck I did it myself, but part of the beauty of serving is that you become acutely aware that it’s not about you!

Maybe you haven’t served in the military. But maybe you read “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren.  The first sentence in Chapter 1 is “It’s not about you…”.  Of course the book goes on to teach us why from a Christian service aspect.

I served in the military for over 20 years.  I have read “The Purpose Driven Life“.  But I want to explore the idea of “It’s not about you” from a different angle.  I want to look at it from the aspect of “Protect and Provide” .

I believe this is the chief calling of any and every man.  There are some that may not agree and that’s fine, you are free to form your own opinion, but I will freely share mine.  I think I earned it…..

If you look back through history, in most any culture, the chief responsibility of a man was to protect and provide for his family.  Whether it was in the context of a tribe, or just his family alone, this is what men have done from the beginning of time. 

You see, men instinctively knew early on (no one had to teach them) that their responsibilities were not just about them, it was about others.  Whether it was a wife, a wife and children, or many families linked together in a tribe, men were responsible for protecting their families from danger and providing for their sustainment in order to continue living.  Even a small group of only men, such as an Infantry Platoon, know that it’s about “we”, not “me” and they protect and provide for each other.  In fact, they size each other up by how well you can be depended upon to keep the perimeter, and for those in charge, how well they can provide food and water to sustain the group.

Protecting and providing can take many avenues depending on the situations and circumstances.  Physical, emotional, spiritual.  But in reality, it’s a combination of all.  I’ll further explore these ideas later in another entry.

Even if you are not married, have no family, it’s still not about you.  Men should serve.  Men should utilize their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for the betterment of others.

Volunteer for a religious organization, a civic organization, an athletic organization.   GET THIS!  There are even organizations that will pay you to utilize your KSAs…….it’s called WORK!  They will pay you money for you to make their company better through the running of a process to create a product.

Whether it’s voluntary or a job……make someone or something better……protect the integrity of it, provide for its sustainment.

Don’t have any KSAs?  Get some!  READ, study, develop, practice……..DO SOMETHING!!!

Bottom line…… It’s not about you!

So men, I challenge you today…..step up to your calling…..Protect and Provide!