20 Bible Verses for Men: Courage, Work, Character

I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:

David's deathbed charge to Solomon: "shew thyself a man" — then he defines it: keep God's statutes "that thou mayest prosper." Manhood, in David's last words, is covenant-keeping, not swagger.

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

God repeats "be strong and of a good courage" three times in this chapter to a man replacing a legend. If your fear comes from following someone who seemed irreplaceable, this is your verse.

Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good.

"Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people" — Joab, surrounded on two fronts, tells his brother the plan and adds "the LORD do that which seemeth him good." Full effort, outcome surrendered.

He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.

"He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed" — the promise isn't that bad news won't come, but that a fixed heart doesn't get re-decided by every phone call.

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage" — waiting is classed as a courage activity. For men wired to fix things immediately, the hardest command in the Psalms.

He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

"He that walketh uprightly walketh surely" — integrity's payoff is stated as stability: nothing to track, no versions of yourself to keep straight. The crooked path 'shall be known' eventually.

The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.

"The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him" — your private character is an inheritance. The verse says your kids collect on decisions they never saw you make.

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

The whole requirement in three items: do justly, love mercy, walk humbly. When religion feels complicated, this verse is God's own summary — and it's shorter than most job descriptions.

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

"He that ruleth his spirit [is better] than he that taketh a city" — Scripture ranks self-control above conquest. The hardest territory a man governs is his own temper, and the Bible says so plainly.

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

"Do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" — written to workers with bad masters. It relocates the point of your effort above your boss, which is what makes quality sustainable under poor management.

Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

"Go to the ant, thou sluggard" — the ant has "no guide, overseer, or ruler" and still provides ahead of winter. The lesson is self-starting: real diligence doesn't wait for supervision.

But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Providing for your own house is put in the strongest terms Paul has — failing it is worse than unbelief. Scripture treats a man's ordinary provision as an act of faith, not just economics.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might" — the reason given is mortality: the window closes. Ecclesiastes turns life's shortness into an argument for full effort, not despair.

Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.

"Prepare thy work without... and afterwards build thine house" — ancient sequencing advice: establish the field before the comforts. A verse about ordering ambitions, not just farming.

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

"As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" — Joshua declares his household's direction publicly, in front of the whole nation. Leading a home starts with being willing to say out loud what it's for.

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Teach these words "diligently unto thy children" — when thou sittest, walkest, liest down, risest up. The method is drip, not lecture: faith transferred through ordinary time together.

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

"Provoke not your children to wrath" — the New Testament's first word to fathers is a restraint on their power, before the instruction to nurture. Scripture knew fathers could crush what they meant to correct.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

"Train up a child in the way he should go" — train is a hands-on word, closer to apprenticeship than advice. It's a proverb about trajectory, which is why the payoff is dated "when he is old."

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Children as "an heritage of the LORD," arrows in a warrior's hand — arrows are aimed and released, not kept. The image gives fatherhood both its purpose and its ending.

I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

"I will walk within my house with a perfect heart" — David resolves to be the same man at home that he is in public. The home is named as character's real proving ground.