It is one of my sayings that "being a male is a matter of birth. But being a man is a matter of choice". This statement holds true in the life of most men today. So many men are unable to cope with challenges facing the real man of today.

Challenge has been defined as a difficult task that tests someone's abilities. To be candid, there are many difficult situations or tasks-that test the abilities of so many men living today. Quite sadly, there are many male folks who have not made the choice to be real men. Men are fast crumbling in the face of these daunting challenges.

THE FEARS

Many men are shrinking away from these challenges or they simply don't know how to face them squarely. They have unwittingly become slaves of these three things: fear, feelings and failure. Now let me examine them briefly.

1. Fears: Too many men are afraid and full of fear- fear of tomorrow, night, death and disappointment. These fears push men to make stupid and foolish mistakes in life. These fears have driven many men away from their God and have therefore covenanted their souls to the God of money, pleasure and the idol worship. Many have entered into cults and ungodly commitments. Men that are fearful are tormented men and suspicious of everybody.

2. Feelings : Most men are slaves of their feelings. They are ruled and dominated by their passions and libido. They can do anything once their feelings are aroused towards the opposite sex. They can sleep with .anything in skirt. The, more reason many men sleep with their maids, in-laws, secretaries and have extramarital affairs. Men that are staves of their feelings are unstable and unpredictable. They are untrustworthy and fickle men.

3. Failures : One bondage hat has tied so many so called men is that of fear of failure. Many men want to appear successful in the eyes of the world. They want to live big and have the best of what the world can offer. They are therefore ready to cut corners, steal, rob, and ruin others so as to appear successful in the eyes of world. Such men are being driven by the desire to keep up with their friends and be able to live up to people's expectations. Such men will always break the law. But one day, the law will always catch up with them. Since most men don't know how to handle the challenges that life throws at them, the more reason they are slaves of these three monsters.

THE CHALLENGES

What are the four most prominent challenges facing men today? They are success, fatherhood, marriage and finance. Now, let us look at them briefly.

1. Success: Quite dishearteningly, many preachers have misled people as to the true meaning of success. The parameters of measuring success have been physical, ephemeral and transient. Success has been defined as standard of living, mansions, fleet of the state of the art vehicles and latestfashiol1 and clothing in town. Unfortunately, these are what many men are running after and willing to kill, maim, destroy and sabotage others for in their effort to achieve these worldly terms and defjrdffol1 of success .Many men that want to appear successful according to these terms have surely ruin their life and that of others in the process. Real men must know how to handle these challenges today in a godly and edifying manner.

2. Fatherhood: Most married men are only husbands; they are yet to become fathers. The picture of fatherhood that most men have is very wrong. Being a father to some men means having many wives, children and providing financial resources for them to the best of their ability. But fatherhood is much more than that. Most children love their mothers, not their fathers. The more reason 'Mothers Day' is lavishly celebrated and 'Fathers Day' pass almost unnoticed by many. Some of the factors militating against men from being good fathers are ignorance, bad models, time, and nature of work and wrong image of who a real man is. True and real men must learn to overcome these challenges today.

3. Marriage: True and genuine men know that marriage is one of the challenges that is testing their inabilities. Those who fail to rise up to this challenge are the ones experiencing divorce, separation and marital crisis continuously. Marriage must be nurtured and strongly believed in. Men that don't believe in the sanctity of marriage and ready to rise up to its challenges will always regret later in life. Many marital troubles come from immature male, who are not real men.

  4. Finance: This is one challenge that m en must face and overcome. Man is a banker provided by nature - meaning that man must provide for everyone dependent on him. Every real man must therefore know how to grow his money tree. You must

I know how to make money and also how your money will work for you. Financial freedom is the will of God for every true and real man.

Dr Francis Bola Akin-John
President, Church. Growth Services Inc.