Men to Men - Softcover

June, Lee N.; Parker, Matthew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0310201578 ISBN 13: 9780310201571

Publisher: Zondervan, 1996

Synopsis

In the midst of the obstacles facing today's African-American male, the voices of men who have met and mastered the challenges offer strength and hope. In Men to Men, sixteen black scholars and professionals share personal insights into what it takes to succeed in all avenues of manhood, from family to faith to vocation. Whether you're a pastor, educator, counselor, lay leader, or simply someone concerned with how to apply your faith to turn life's hurdles into opportunities, Men to Men gives you proven perspectives that can spark success and growth in your own and others' lives. Drawing on the expertise and wisdom of their chosen fields, men such as Dr. Lloyd Blue, Dr. Hank Allen, and Dr. Lee June share practical, man-to-man advice on topics of vital interest, including: - How African-American Males Can Build Powerful Families - Developing and Maintaining a Commitment to Marriage - An Action Plan for Restoring African-American Men, Families, and Communities - Black, Biblical, and Afrocentric - Risk and Failure as Preludes to Achievement - Avoiding the Criminal Justice System - The Importance of Moral Character. In-depth, biblical, encouraging, and based on the latest scholarship, Men to Men shows how you can bridge the pitfalls of black manhood to achieve spiritual, personal, and social prosperity. This book is a companion to Women to Women, edited by Norvella Carter, Ph.D., and Matthew Parker.

About this title

About the Author:

Dr. Lee N. June is vice president for Student Affairs and Services and assistant provost for Academic Student Services and Multicultural Issues at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.

Matthew Parker is president of the Institute for Black Family Development in Detroit. He has played editorial roles in the books The Black Family and Men to Men.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Chapter 1 Lee N. June The Importance of Moral Character

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. (Proverbs 22:1)

In those days ... every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25)

And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? (Job 1:8) INTRODUCTION

Morality has to do with what is right and what is wrong. The word moral, according to Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (1985), is defined as "relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior." A synonym for moral is the word ethical. The word morality, according to Webster, is defined as "a doctrine or system of moral conduct." The word character is defined by Webster as "the aggregate of distinctive qualities or characteristics of a breed, strain or type; the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation." A closely related word to character is reputation. Thus, as the definitions imply, one can think of the moral character of an individual, group, organization, or nation.

Few of us would disregard the importance of moral character. If we were to examine the moral character of our nation, however, we would probably have to agree that it has received some severe blows over time. These blows have come from the legacy of slavery, segregation, and discrimination as well as from scandals such as Watergate.

Moral character is something that can be taught and learned. As men, we can all look back to our upbringing and see the values that we were taught. We can also examine ourselves and determine the values that have been incorporated into our lives. Even though values can be taught (Lofton 1991), they do not automatically become a part of our lives. We all have occasionally seen examples of children who, in spite of having had "good" parents, become "bad." We have also occasionally witnessed the reverse—wherein bad parents ended up having good children. However, parents and role models contribute significantly to the development of moral character. MORAL CHARACTER AS A CONCEPT

We frequently hear persons speaking of reputation, character, or integrity, though they are too often downplayed as central virtues. Even though we often hear these terms, there seems to be another central value that supersedes them. That value is success—making it—and doing whatever it takes to be successful.

During the 1970s, situation ethics became popular because of the work of Joseph Fletcher (1974). Fletcher described situation ethics in the following manner:

The situationist enters into every decision-making situation fully armed with the ethical maxims of his community and its heritage, and he treats them with respect as illuminators of his problems. Just the same he is prepared in any situation to compromise them or set them aside in the situation if love seems better served by doing so.

Situation ethics goes part of the way with natural law, by accepting reason as the instrument of moral judgment, while rejecting the notion that the good is "given" in the nature of things, objectively. It goes part of the way with Scriptural law by accepting revelation as the source of the norm while rejecting all "revealed" norms or laws but the one command—to love God in the neighbor. The situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to love’s need. For example, "Almsgiving is a good thing if ..." The situationist never says, "Almsgiving is a good thing. Period!" His decisions are hypothetical, not categorical. Only the commandment to love is categorically good. "Owe no one anything, except to love one another" (Romans 13:8). (p. 26)

Although situation ethics is still visible, the ethic that seems to be modeled today is captured by the following five phrases:

1. "Do whatever needs to be done, don’t get caught."

2. "Do to others before they do to you."

3. "Right and wrong are relative—survival is absolute."

4. "Money is more important than principles."

5. "Principles are good, but only money pays the bills."

If one attempts to state a moral or ethical position, he or she is often accused of moralizing. The word moralizing means to explain or interpret morally or to give a moral quality or direction to. In counseling and teaching situations, moralizing is often an issue that is raised. While I agree that moralizing in the sense of denying individuals their right to certain behaviors is wrong, there are times when one must take a moral position. Traditional religions place tremendous value on morals or codes of ethics. While the specific morals and practices vary among religions, all religions have a systematic code of ethics. Religion in turn tremendously influences societies and their laws. The Bible and Christianity place a high value on personal and moral character as the following biblical passages show:

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. (Proverbs 22:1)

A good name is better than precious ointment. (Ecclesiastes 7:1a)

(Today, we might paraphrase this to say, "A good name is better than being a chief executive officer if it takes doing wrong to become one.")

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (James 1:27 paraphrased)

A bishop then must be blameless ... of good behavior. Moreover, he must have a good report of them that are outside ... Deacons, being found blameless. (1 Timothy 3:2, 7, 10 paraphrased)

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation to which you are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1–3 paraphrased)

About this edition

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0310201578
• ISBN 13: 9780310201571
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272