I want to thank the men who have brought in their favorite and most unusual hats. Some are really interesting.

The reason I wanted all these hats here today is to emphasize all the different roles that we as men have to fulfill. In the course of our lives we have to wear many hats. Some are more fun to wear than others. And some are more serious. But in them all we need to fulfill the obligation to wear them to the glory of God, Our Father.

There is for example the hat of

PLAY or RECREATION

This is the hat that is the most fun to wear. It is the hat of relaxation.

For some it is a fishing hat. I am reminded of the two men in a boat with their fishing poles, sandwiches, and cans of coke. One says to the other, "If fishing is a sport then we must be athletes."

For others the hat is one of a ball team. If I had to claim allegiance it would have to be to the New Orleans Saints. Our team hat is a paper bag. Fans of the New Orleans Saints do not want to be identified.

Others wear the hat of a gardener, or a hunter, or a craftsman, or a skier.

The truth is that we all need to wear the hat of play. It is part of life that helps us to wear the other hats well. It is what we do to relieve the stress in our lives, to renew our spirits and our bodies.

Unfortunately there are some men who only wear this hat. They have not grown up and taken other hats, all they want to do is play. There are other hats to wear, including the hat called . . .

WORK

This is probably the hat people complain the most about. As a nation, we seem to dread going to work each day. When you stop and think about it, a lot of things are explained by the fact that the vast majority of people really had rather be doing something other than what they are doing, especially when it is work.

It is a blessed person who can make his living doing what he enjoys doing. He does a better job and comes home feeling better about himself.

But even if our jobs are not the ones we would want to do most of all, they are our jobs; and we need to do our best.

In the New Testament we read.

II Thessalonians 3:10-12

10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone will not work, neither let him eat.

11 For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.

12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.

Men, we are called to do the work before us. We are not to be lazy, nor to seek to live off the work of others. (This is why Christians take a stand against gambling — it is seeking gain apart from work. While no one would reject a win-fall, it is not to be our way of financing life.)

We must wear the hat of a worker if we are to be pleasing to God.

To do our job well, not only pleases our Heavenly Father, it also reflects well on Him. People judge God by what they see in His followers. When we are hard working and honest, it causes others to think better about our Lord.

We wear the hats of play and work. We also wear the hat of . . .

CITIZEN

We live in this country with the responsibilities of citizenship. To wear this hat involves several activities.

It may mean service in the military. This is probably the first thought that comes to mind. Such service is meant to be service to flag and country, it is a part of Citizenship.

But there are other ways to wear this hat. One is to obey the laws of the land.

The Church in Rome was centered in the political capitol of the world. Rome was the seat of the Roman Government. The church could not escape the constant reminders of that fact. The members knew and passed governmental officials on the streets, they heard the rumors that have always been a part of governmental life, they had to endure the official processions that blocked the streets, and in countless other ways they were affected by government.

To them Paul wrote:

Romans 13:1, 6-7

1 Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.

6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for {rulers} are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.

7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax {is due;} custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

As long as the rule of man does not conflict with the rule of God, we must obey. And when the rule of man violates the rule of God we must seek to change the rule of man, that is a part of good citizenship.

In order to help keep the rule of man in line with the rule of God, we wear the hat of a voter.

You do not wear the hat of citizen well if you do not take part in the elections. When you fail to vote, you fail not only the nation but God. You allow those of the world to have the majority vote.

It is important to never forget that making Godly decisions in the voting booth is a part of good citizenship. When you and the Lord enter into that booth, He must help you select the right candidate.

The world would have us vote our pocket books, our friendships, our pet causes. God would have us vote His will.

To wear the hat of citizenship well, we must vote in accordance with God's will.

This may mean that for some they must don the hat of candidate and work within the government to bring about change.

It has been said that politics is no place for a Christian. One of the problems in our nation is that many have believed this and now we have to suffer the consequences of laws, ordinances, and rules made by people who do not put God first. Christians can help turn America back to where it should be by serving as God leads in government at all levels.

Finally let me say about the hat of citizenship, that it involves for some military service and for some service in elected positions. For all of us it includes obedience and voting. But it also involves praying for the leaders of our nation.

1 Timothy 2:1-2

1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,

2 for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

We do not have to agree with a leader to pray for Him. In fact we probably need to pray harder for those we feel are not following the will of God. First we need to pray for their own spiritual life and salvation.

We also need to pray for them to yield to the will of God. We need to pray that they be willing to take a stand for God and have the courage to stand up for what is right.

Another hat we wear is that of . . .

FAMILY MAN

We are the Brothers, the Sons,the Fathers. We have responsibilities to our families.

The pagan world has had fun at the decision by the S.B.C. to reaffirm our commitment to God's way of organizing the family. They have taken one phrase from among many and ridiculed the idea that women are to be submissive. Some have even treated it as a new idea.

But they have ignored both the statement in the article on the family and the statement in the Word of God that clearly calls for the man to be the earthly head of the family.

Ephesians 5:23

For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself {being} the Savior of the body.

The pagan world thinks that means the husband is the boss. However wise men know that this means that the man bears before God the responsibility to care for the family physically and more importantly spiritually.

God has decreed that men are to bear the responsibility for seeing that their families are fed and clothed. In our world of high taxes, it is often necessary for the wife to assist here. But it is the man who is to be the leader in this task.

The man needs to be the leader in the order and discipline in the family. He is to set the stage for what the family will allow and will not allow. Too often men have chickened out and left discipline to the mother. Both must be involved, but men we must lead.

And we need to lead by example. We lead by our behavior toward our wives, our respect of the home, our choice of language, or entertainment, of appropriate behavior.

And men we are the leaders spiritually. When we men stand before our Lord we will give an account of how we led our family to worship the Lord. We will answer for the Sundays we stayed at home, the times we did not carry our children to worship. We will answer for not teaching our children to pray, to tithe, to love the Lord. We will bear the shame of leaving it up to the women.

God will call us to account for how we fulfilled our responsibility to train up our children in the way they should go.

What will you say to the Lord? What will He say to you?

How much joy there will be to hear Him say, "Well done, you taught the children right and wrong, you led your family in worship and service."

Truly the effects of what we do in this area will be felt for generations to come.

Look at our world today. Can you imagine how different it would be if the judges had been taught by their parents that God mattered. If they had been taught that it was o.k. to tell children, "Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not kill." But they were taught this was religious — it has no place on the wall of public buildings or schools.

How will the next generation compare men? What are we teaching our children about their responsibilities and their relationship to the Lord.

The hat of the family man and the next hat are closely related. They are the two most important hats a man wears. And how he wears these two makes the most difference in his life and the life of those who follow after him. The hat of the family and the hat of the . . .

BELIEVER

Many neglect to ever put this hat on. Yet it is the most important of all.

It is important in the life of the man, for what he believes will effect his eternal destiny. If he believes that Jesus Christ is Lord and that salvation is by grace through faith, then he can make Christ the Lord of his life and know forgiveness from sin and eternal life.

If he rejects this truth, if he fails to follow Christ as Lord, then all is lost. This world and hell are all he will ever know. It does not matter whether he substitutes anything else in the place of Christ or leaves that spot void, nothing will matter.

Each man has a God-shaped hole in his life that only God can fill. If God is invited in to fill that hole, the man's life is a failure.

But when God fills that hole, life has meaning and purpose. And man needs to live out that purpose.

As a believer man has a responsibility to God.

He has the responsibility to work for God. Men are to be the spiritual leaders not only in the home, but in the church. Men are to willing take leadership roles in the church. A man's face ought to be familiar at the church. He ought to be there often during the week, worshipping, working, ministering. His presence needs to be felt in his tithes and his gifts, in his prayers, in his support.

But this hat is not just worn in the church building. It is worn in the world. As a believer each man has those that he can influence for God.

At work, the believer is the man of principle standing for what is right, doing the ethical things, giving a full day's labor for a day's pay.

In the community, the believer is the moral conscience speaking out against wrongs and for what is right.

In the neighborhood, the believer is the one inviting people to come and worship with him. And inviting them to come and know Christ as their own Lord and Savior.

How well do you wear this hat?

Do you wear it at all?

Is Christ your Lord. At this very moment, you can invite Christ into your heart. He died for you, taking your place, but He waits for you to open the door to Him. Will you invite Him in now?

We wear a lot of hats.

The hats

of play

of work

of citizen

of family

of believer

Wear them well.

Remember our text for today.

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; Colossians 3:23