A Real Man

It seems that no one understands what's right and what is wrong.
They have their own opinions as to where the fault belongs.
Their goal in life is finding all the pleasure that they can.
But I was raised by one who'd teach his boy to be a man.
A man will seldom know the gossip racing through the town.
A man won't waste his time with words for tearing others down.
A man won't fall to anger, always looking for a fight.
But always will he stand against the world for what is right.
A man will raise his children strong, as ladies or as men.
But when they need his strength, they'll find a shoulder just for them.
A man will work for days and nights until his body aches.
Providing for the needs at home, and doing what it takes.
To meet his family's every need, he gladly does his part.
And when he tires, the thoughts of those at home will fill his heart.
He disciplines his children every time they break the rules.
Or when he finds again that they've been playing with his tools.
It breaks his heart to see them cry each time that they'd been spanked.
But when it's done in love he knows that someday he'll be thanked.
A man will never raise a hand to use against his wife.
A man would hold the kind of words that pierce her heart for life.
A man is held beneath a power greater than his own.
And holds himself accountable for things within his home.
He sets a firm example of the way a man should live.
Then proudly shares the blessings that a Godly life can give.
A man will know his friends are those he'd trust with all he had.
The kind of men and women who remain when times are bad.
You'll know a man is worth his weight when you travel at his side.
And find his friends at every stop, or highway that he'll ride.
For everywhere you look you'll see another hand to wave.
Each hand belongs to one who shares a story that he'll save.
In short, a man is one who claims his life with his mistakes.
And works to claim the future for his family that he stakes.
He's seen as one who's trusted by his family and his friends.
And lives a life convicted through a faith that never bends.
Regardless of the thoughts and words you hear from fools who speak.
The God who made the world has shown examples we should seek.
He gave a role for man to play since the very dawn of time.
And our Almighty God was never known to change his mind.
I could have been the kind of man who takes all he can get.
And steps upon the hands of all the people that he's met.
But surely there was something I have seen that they did not.
For there's a reason that I tightly hold what they've forgot.
I've seen the kind of man my God would wish for me to be.
And every day I strive to earn this man's respect for me.
He's set the best example for me any father can.
And I thank you, dad, and promise that I'll strive to be a man.