Chivalry is NOT dead

I’m not sure who said it, but I have always been fond of the quote, “The greatest thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother”. That may not be the exact quote, but you get the gist of the message. I have made a lot of mistakes as a father and I have no shortage of regrets. However, I know I’ve done some things right too. For one, I love the mother of my children with every ounce of my soul. I try very hard every day to show my children that I love their mother. I have also worked to instill in my children (especially Michael) a complete respect for women. I believe I have been successful in this endeavor. Maybe not perfectly, but Michael has seen how I treat the women in my life (my wife, my daughters, my mother, my sister etc…). I believe that has rubbed off on him and I can only pray he applies it in his own life.

Many believe chivalry is dead. I’m here to tell you it’s not. If you haven’t seen chivalrous behavior lately, maybe you’re hanging out in the wrong places or are watching the wrong TV shows. Chivalry is NOT dead. It is alive and well. Show up at my church on any given Sunday and you will find a whole building full of chivalrous, honorable men. These are God-fearing, family men who are true gentlemen.

Hmmm… “Gentleman”. There’s a word that seems to be getting lost in our culture. Gentleman. Break the word down and you get gentle man. A gentleman does not deal with women harshly. A gentleman loves, honors and respects women. A gentleman appreciates the qualities of the weaker, fairer sex.

To that end, I am going to start a series of posts on this blog. The series will be in many parts, but will not necessarily happen every day. The series will focus on what a real man does. It will focus on what it means to be a gentleman and what chivalry really looks like. Not all of these ideas will be my own. Some will be my thoughts, others will be thoughts of successful men who have gone before me. Watch for this in coming days and feel free to share it with any of the men in your life (young and old). No man is ever finished being a gentleman. A real man is always striving to be better. A real man is always working to be a better husband, a better father, and a better person all the way around. The fact is we are all sinners and we will never fully succeed, but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying.