Ask God To Give You This Virtue

An essential tool in your journey to Godly masculinity.

A Moment Of Doubt

I have a friend whom I greatly respect. He’s someone that has been an important guide for me in matters of faith. He was en route to be ordained as a priest, and then life got in the way and he felt his calling was somewhere else, closer to his family. But the time he spent preparing for ministry taught him a whole lot about theology from a theoretical —but also practical— stance. He’s very well versed when it comes to religion, and he’s someone that I consider to be somewhat of a mentor in matters of the faith.

We’ve gotten very close these past few months, especially since we started the Exodus 90 challenge together. As part of the challenge, we are called to have weekly fraternity meetings to discuss whatever is going on with each of us.

In one of those meetings very recently, I mentioned how I was a bit concerned about the new direction I was talking the Simple Men brand in. At that point I was just about to launch it and was having doubts about the change that was about to come. For some context, in case you didn’t read my introductory post to Simple Men 2.0, I decided to basically give up my income from this page —which came from coaching, selling programs and courses, and doing promos— in order to do what I felt in my heart was what I was truly called to do: write. And more specifically, write about Christian masculinity.

You can understand why I was concerned. It’s never easy to give up your income to pursue what you feel in your heart is the right thing to do. But I had let a project I had worked really hard to build become just a generic page that only served to make me some cash. And that’s not what I wanted when I first started Simple Men.

Anyway, I mentioned this to my friend. How I was concerned about losing my income. How I didn’t know if people would appreciate the new direction of the page. How I didn’t know if anyone would pay the premium subscription that I hoped would replace the income I was ceasing to receive.

What Guides Your Decisions?

And he simply asked me: “What does your heart tell you to do?”

I told him deep in my heart I felt a calling to focus more on Christian masculinity, and to try, again, as I did at the very beginning of Simple Men, to just help as many young men as I possibly could find a way in this sometimes hostile world. But I also wanted to make money, I said.

And what he said gave me a ton of clarity, and became a new tool that has made me more equipped to deal with such dilemmas.

You see, I mentioned how disenchanted I was a few months ago with the content I was putting out and with what my project had become. And the reason for that is that I had let myself lose sight of the true intention of Simple Men and had let it become just something to make me money. And that’s when you feel disconnected and all in all bored with what you’re doing. The main reason for this cannot be to make money.

My friend simply told me that I should do what God was calling me to do, and do so with purity of intention. That a man ought to do things for the right reasons, and trust God to take care of the rest. After all, it’s in the main prayer we pray: Gives us our daily bread. God provides.

This reminded me of Matthew 6:33:

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33

Purity of intention. That resonated with me. It was a virtue I had never explicitly asked for, but it was definitely something that I didn’t always have. I’m too human, and that means that sometimes I do things, even good things, with the wrong motivations.

Choose The Right Path, and Leave The Rest To God

To have purity of intention is to remember to put God first in all endeavors. It means to do things for the right reasons, and not let yourself be motivated or seduced by the world.

Purity of intention means placing God at the very top of it all, and letting everything you do in your life honor Him first and foremost. It also means following the path He wants you to follow, and not the one your human mind thinks will bring the most success.

As Saint Paul says:

Whatever you do, work at it from the heart, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.
St. Paul

I can’t tell you how liberating it’s been to have this virtue guide my actions. Now I’m not saying that’s how it is every single time. I’m still human. I still fail and make mistakes. But more and more I’m praying to God before I act: Lord, go before me, take my hands, and help me make sure that what I do and say is done with purity of intention.

And it’s been working so far. To ask for something with an honest heart is to start receiving it, and as I ask, I am noticing greater peace in my mind, and a clarity I had not experienced before. And interesting enough, business-wise, it’s working too. Not only am I once again finding it a joy to sit down and write, but the business side of it is picking up speed too, and lots of you have already subscribed. For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It validates the importance of the message I’m sharing and motivates me to stay true to this path.

It’s not always easy to follow God, but being conscious of the motivations behind your actions, and remembering to act with purity of intention makes it a whole lot easier, as it usually becomes extremely clear what the right path is.

Ask today for purity of intention. Pray to God to give you wisdom and discernment to see your own blindspots and false idols, and to free yourself for them so you can surrender your life and actions to the service of The Lord.

That way, you will make sure that when the time comes when you are called to answer the question “Did you put God first?”, you can confidently say “Yes, I did”.