You had made man the way you did… differently he became
“Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”
From Pride to Arrogance
Everlasting God, You had made us men proud beings, We needed it to work tirelessly for the well-being of our respective families, to work for the autonomy of our own rather than giving in to ease and begging; to invest ourselves to the best of our ability in finding solutions to our family difficulties without outside interference, without exposing ourselves, without disturbing others.
Unfortunately, we lacked discernment, failing to recognize when our pride turned into arrogance, failing to discern when the situation exceeded our strength and resources… behaving as if, in absolute terms, we would never need the assistance or support of those wiser than ourselves to guide us through extreme situations. Yes, in this we were arrogant and endangered those entrusted to our care.
For this, please forgive us!
From Insurance to Stubbornness
You had endowed us with a spirit of courage and strength to face situations that were not won in advance; we needed it to ensure the well-being of our loved ones, as life's opportunities did not always seem obvious at first glance; and how often it produced the expected fruits.
However, we ignored the warnings from our wife and loved ones when we were ready to take reckless risks to satisfy our desires. That's when we crossed the line. Even today, we still struggle to reassure her; she no longer feels safe and worries about the consequences of our next irrational risk.
Man of his word or formidable manipulator
There is a glory that You gave us, that of having, to a certain extent, a providential function for our families.
Indeed, we felt a sense of satisfaction and pride in being able to reassure our wife and children with our words and promises that we would fulfill their various requests when the time came; it was an image of You that You had placed within us. This gave us a comfortable feeling of having their trust for their future. It also meant being able to ensure their physical, financial, and emotional security on a daily basis.
Driven by this trust placed in us, we tirelessly strive to earn such esteem every day, always making sure to keep our word, until the day when…
Unfortunately, we have considered using our tongue maliciously. We have viewed women's need for security as an opportunity to embark on adventures, making promises to our victims that we had no intention of keeping and claiming that "women love to be lied to."
How astounding it is that this privilege, granted by God to man, to use his words with authority, is thus used, distorted, and debased to satisfy sexual fantasies outside of marriage, using the tongue as a weapon to attack game that does not suspect it is in the presence of a ruthless wolf.
How ashamed we are to have thus abused these "weaker" beings in search of security and even for those times when we made promises to our children lightly, we who were supposed to give them an idea, however small, of what the name "Father" borne by God means.
O Everlasting Father God, for this sacrilege, forgive us and make us fathers according to Your plans! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!
From Attraction to seduction
You had granted us an help, so it was obvious that it was only there to accompany us in fulfilling our destiny, and if it could be likened to the "weaker vessel" 1 Peter 3:7 that was perfectly natural, since we were there to help it overcome that weakness. To console us for the boldness of our daily work, You had sovereignly decided to make this feminine presence highly pleasant.
How regrettable it is, then, that we allowed ourselves to be captivated by another, who was not our wife, who was not our helper. Making our pleasure our master and betraying the one who never tired of reserving the exclusivity of her body for us.
For these shameless thoughts, for these acts of adultery, Everlasting God most Holy, have mercy and forgive us!
From Authority to tyranny
You had established us as authorities over our respective wives and families and had equipped us to assume these functions with the necessary discernment. Indeed, this has sometimes been beneficial, even salutary, for the whole family.
However, we have often abused this authority, imposing our whims on our own and forgetting that just as man is the head of woman, so too is Christ the Head of man. We have so often claimed our position of authority without concerning ourselves with the same eagerness, with the same determination, with the question of whether we, in turn, were truly and continually submitted to Christ, our own Authority. 1 Corinthians 11:3
No, Lord Jesus Christ, we will not resign from our position of marital or family authority, but from today we submit to You as authority, to guide our own no longer according to our ways, but Yours; in all submission to Your Glory!
If you feel a sense of incompleteness after reading this article, then we recommend reading our series of articles, Encounters with Christ.
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