For all the flak shows like Barbie, Bratz, and Disney princesses get for having impossible beauty standards for women, men will never live up to He-Man. His muscles are gigantic, he walks around shirtless, his hair is a golden mop, and he brandishes a long sword. Even his name suggests he has double the testosterone. Men will never be able to attain that level of machismo.
Though He-Man is a hunk, it’s easy to forget his mission and the moral fortitude needed to complete it. Skeletor is constantly endangering Castle Grayskull. As much as ripping muscles and a giant tiger are helpful for his task, He-Man needs inward values to survive. A heart that can’t be corrupted, an iron will that won’t give up, and a compassionate spirit that protects the weak are just a few things.
In the book of Judges, Samson looks a lot like He-Man. The Spirit of the Lord was imbued in him, and he was able to take out entire armies. He could “tear apart a lion like one tears about a young goat” (the Bible’s words, not mine). God even used his impulsive rage to accomplish some battle campaigns.
But, as good as Samson looked on the outside, he needed inward values to keep his powers in check. Samson’s reckless behavior made him easy to manipulate. His lust drove him to poor choices. He relied too much on his emotional outbursts rather than on integrity. Even though God used those emotional outbursts to win fights against the Philistines, Samson got into just as much trouble from them. He was captured, rendered blind, and he lost his glorious strength because Delilah tricked him. God redeems him in the end with a major victory over the enemy, but I am convinced Samson wished he could do things over.
We often look for the outward things to show us what kind of life we want to lead. Bigger muscles, finer clothes, nicer cars, and glorious video game collections. But these things cannot help us with the greater mission. “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” Proverbs 11:3. With God’s integrity as the main engine for our lives, we can steer away from pointless endeavors, meaningless pursuits, and outright scams to focus on the Kingdom. Integrity is God’s work inside every hero. It’s the best way to avoid a lot of trouble.
So, while the ripping muscles and battle sword are nice perks, it’s God’s work making us upright that will help us finish the mission. I pray that your inward values far outweigh your outward treasures.