This week in our mail box we got one of those pamphlets for a certain Smoke shop.  You know – one of those shops where you go for all your cigarette, cigar, pipe and bong needs.  It was interesting reading in terms of the stuff they sell, particularly given that the whole thing was promoting gifts for Father’s Day.  It was all the more interesting to see the categories of ‘bloke’ the shop wants to target.  Here’s the categories I can see when I flick through the leaflet:

 

There’s the Beer Bingeing Bloke who can have the boozeometer beer glass, the walking stick with can holder, the tic tac toe drinking game, and of course the ever fashionable drinking hate.

There’s the Rude Bloke who can have the brass testicles door jam, the happy man bottle stopper and the swearing finger key ring.

There’s the Rev-Head Bloke who can have mugs, shot glasses, clocks & pictures – that will express whether you’re a Holden man or Ford man.

There’s the Hard Rocker Bloke who can have all sorts of AC/DC memorabilia.

There’s the Fantasy Fiction Bloke who can have dragon goblets, skull money boxes and skeleton hand candle holders.

There’s the NRL Bloke who can have all sorts of stuff  – glasses, stubby holders, key rings, baby dummies, bbq aprons – with your favourite team’s colours on it.

 

 

Some thoughts on this –  Some of this stuff expresses a sinful heart.  eg. we’re told in the bible that’s it’s wrong to get drunk, to be self-controlled.  But most of this stuff isn’t sinful, it’s just stuff, stuff that different things that men can be into.  And can I say – If I knew they were around, I would have happily let me kids suck on a Bronco’s dummy.  You can never start too early with a footy team.  And when I look at those categories, I realise the shop is only appealing to certain sorts of blokes and will totally miss the mark for other guys.  But here’s the major thing I was thinking about – whether it be the smoke shop with its various junk, or Bunnings, or BCF or Amart All Sports or JBHI – the world has ways of getting at us, influencing us to thing what we possess defines us and gives us identity as blokes.  But Jesus said “a man’s life does not consistent in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).  To bring a bit of clarity to that, “life does not consist of the past-times we are into” It’s not the stuff in a shop that brings us meaning.  It’s not our hobbies.  What defines us is relationship.  Relationship with God through Christ Jesus.  And then after that, relationships around us – with friends, wife, kids, and church.  Let’s get stuck into relationships.  Let’s get to know God more through his word.  Read his word.  And let’s cherish the people around us.  God wants us to be certain sort of blokes.  I’ll ditch the categories from piece of junk mail, and use what I see in Galatians 5:22-23 about ‘fruit of the Spirit’.

 

There’s the Loving Bloke – who gives his time to spend time with a friend who’s doing it tough lately.

There’s the Joyful Bloke – who has a deep contentment in who he is because he’s loved by God and he knows he’s heading for heaven.

There’s the Peaceful Bloke – who when issues comes up at work that could make him blow up, is instead self-control, and helps others to not blow up either.

There’s the Patient Bloke – who is happy to sit and play with his kids even if it’s not the most interesting thing to do, but he does it because it’s what his kids love to do.

There’s the Kind Bloke – who looks out for the newcomers at church, looks out for guys in growth group and tries to build a bit of a relationship with them.

There’s the Good Bloke – who strives to be honest with his tax return, with not making illegal copies of music & movies, by not getting creative with the numbers on work reports.

There’s the Faithful Bloke – who cherishes his wife and supports her through times when she’s sick, tired & stressed.  Even when the sex life isn’t exactly firing, he’s faithful.

There’s the Gentle Bloke – who isn’t a wimp and isn’t weak but bend his strength so he can be of service to others.

There’s the Self-Controlled Bloke – who keeps a tight rein on his tongue even when he wants to defend himself and lash out at his boss, his wife, his kids.

 

For next weekend, Happy Fathers Day everyone.