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Several years ago, I was talking to my sister and she told me that my nephew was divorcing his wife. My great nephew was barely two years old.

"Why? What happened?" I asked, crushed that this young little family was breaking up. My great nephew won't know the safe harbor of a close knit family. The dilemma being is it better to grow up in a house full of strife or in a fatherless home? Then again, you can never truly know a person’s heart, can you? I could hear the anguish in my sister’s voice.

"I don't know, Gina,” she replied. “It's the 21Century Man thing."

"Huh?"

I had never heard that term before. The 21Century Man. I never thought I would ever quote David Bowie, but here goes:

Heathenism is a state of mind. You can take it that I'm referring to one who does not see his world. He has no mental light. He destroys almost unwittingly. He cannot feel any of God's presence in his life. He is the 21Century Man.

Evidently, there was so much conversation about this that there is now a website about this very subject— http://www.21stcenturyman.org—but, even that is rather scary. Some of the bullet points include: Reclaiming your personal power, and create omnipresence. I am all for men being real men, and not the flimsy fakes we see on TV commercials and sitcoms and movies. I’m all for men developing boundaries and standards, but discovering personal power and core energy. What does that mean?

I had no concept of this term until I remembered Paul's most excellent explanation to his spiritual son, Timothy...

2 Timothy 3:1 But know this, that in the last days grievous times will be upon us. 2For men will be lovers of themselves, money-lovers, braggarts, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 without natural feeling, unyielding, slanderers, without self-control, savage, haters of good, 4 betrayers, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; even turn away from these.

I talk about this in a different column here. Perilous times are here, and we should remember how God would have us be and act.

It is truly about the crumbling of our vertical relationship with God, and how horizontal relationships suffer from that crumbling. It breaks my heart that I see marriages break up all the time because "He doesn't make me happy anymore..." "I don't love her anymore..." "She doesn't make me zing anymore..."

Here’s an excellent question: Since when did God ever promise happiness from another person? Since... ummm... never.

God has promised peace... love... blessings... satisfaction... strong bones... satisfaction of thirst or hunger... filling all your needs... and so much more there's not space for it all from God Himself. But, never from another person. Not horizontally, only vertically.

That Vertical Relationship has no end, no topmost point because it is anchored in God Himself. It is He that makes it solid, and since He is our Rock, we will never be moved. It is as Solomon points out, God being that third cord wrapping around the two cords which makes the rope unbreakable and the knot immovable from the Anchor. It is the responsibility of all, not just the men or just the women. The spiritual leader of the home most definitely is the man’s responsibility, but without the prayers and spiritual acuity of the woman, the home is just as apt to fall apart. Paul describes the majority of the people in today’s society. Hopefully, and prayerfully the 21century Christian will willfully reside inside that Third Cord of God.

Horizontal relationships with family, friends, acquaintances and associates will never be healthy unless tied with the unbreakable Cord and knotted in the true Anchor.

"Refreshment in Refuge" from Gina Burgess

Manifestations of the Spirit