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Father Moses is an Orthodox Priest, husband, father of five boys and YouTuber I recently discovered. If you’re like me and enjoy making good use of YouTube’s algorithm, there’s plenty of compelling content out there if you take the time to look for it (do any serious people still pay attention to the legacy media, who were oh so wrong yet again this past week?)

While watching a video entitled The Renaissance of Men, a fascinating discussion from Maniphesto, the algorithm offered up Father Moses’ Why You’re Not the Man You Could Be video. As someone who certainly has room for improvement, I couldn’t help but watch!

Father Moses dives into the metaphysical, but he also beautifully yet practically explains three tips to develop yourself as a man:

1. Silence

“Silence is the destroyer of all boys”, says Father Moses. He elaborates,

“When you are forced to sit by yourself in silence and pray to God, not only are you facing the abyss of whether or not God is actually there and hears your prayer, you’re also facing the existential reality of who you are as a man, or lack thereof, and there’s nothing to hide it.”

Then Father Moses drops this: “If somebody asks me what is the most manly thing to do in the entire world, I would say it’s prayer. It’s silence, hands down. Nothing is more difficult; nothing is harder or more challenging. Try it!’’ Dads4Kids founder Warwick Marsh would certainly agree, and I would encourage you to pray too. Give it a go! If you’re not sure how, make a start with our short Dad’s prayer at the end of this newsletter and go from there.

2. Finding a Spiritual Father

Father Moses explains that having a spiritual father is like having a “cheat code for life”, especially when you’re in your 20’s and 30’s. The key is that they’re someone you look up to, love and respect, and their role should be to lead the way and help you cultivate your character.

My Dad (the one and only Warwick Marsh) is a spiritual father to me, but I’ve also been blessed by other spiritual fathers in my life who have shown the way and helped develop my character. If you don’t have a spiritual father, I would encourage you to seek one out.

3. Acceptance of Self

Father Moses clarifies, “This does not mean you accept your bad behaviour, your character flaws, your faults, your sin. That’s not what we’re talking about… We often want to be someone different… but your personality is not a defect, it’s gifted to you by God… The core aspects of who you are as a person… can be harnessed for good or for evil, and you’ve gotta accept that your personality is very much set.”

He goes on to explain,

“When you have a character quality like intensity, it’s great, it’s a gift from God, but it has to be utilised in the right way… When you accept who you are… you bring a certain peace and harmony to life because you’re not trying to be anybody else, you’re just trying to be yourself.”

Do your best to cultivate your character by finding daily moments of silence, seeking out a spiritual father, accepting who you are, and become the man that you could be. The team at Dads4Kids will be cheering you on, that is for sure!

Here are some final, rousing words of encouragement from another excellent YouTuber and dear friend of Dads4Kids, Andrew Gray:

“We are in need of some kind of renaissance of masculine manhood. I’m not suggesting for a moment that we need to kickstart an organised, official movement – that might come down the road – but let the movement happen in our minds and in our hearts and in our recognition that if we don’t do something about this now while the window of opportunity is still open, we might miss our chance and it will be our children who pay the heaviest price.

“So, men, I’m calling to you! I’m calling on you to speak up. I’m calling on you to stand up. I’m calling on you to ignore engaging futile arguments with people in society who want you to beg for approval to be a man! None of us should be doing that! I for one will not be doing that!

“I will be seeking nobody’s approval to be a good man, a strong man, a courageous man, and to every man watching this episode, I am appealing to you. Stop asking other people for their approval to be a man! We need you to be one, we need you to be a strong one, we need you to be a vocal, courageous one!

“If we get enough men thinking like this and acting like this, we might actually stand a chance of turning around the anarchy and the chaos and the mess and the destruction that is all around us in every society on the planet. We might actually have a chance to put things right once again!”

Lovework

Amen Andrew! If you agree, please watch, like and share the videos. Most importantly, put the words of Father Moses and Andrew Gray into action in your own life and become the man you could be. Our children will thank you!

Yours for cultivating character,

Nathaniel Marsh

P.S. Thanks again to all the families who joined us at Coolendel, South Coast NSW, last weekend for the Dads4Kids Fun Camp! It was a fantastic, fun weekend of dads and their kids spending time together. If you’re able to join us for next year, save the dates 7–8 November 2025 – more details coming soon!

 P.P.S. International Men’s Day on November 19 is fast approaching. The theme for 2024 is Positive Male Role Models. Make sure you plan to celebrate the day in some way – click here for some ideas on things to do. November is also Men’s Equality Month, a dedicated time to celebrate the role that men and boys play in society, and to raise awareness about the 12 areas of male disadvantage. Check out https://www.menandboys.net/mem/ to learn more.

P.P.P.S. If you’re encouraged by the work of Dads4Kids and would like to help us continue Building Men, Growing Fathers, and Changing Generations, please consider making a tax-deductible donation here.

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Originally published at Dads4Kids. Photo by Adobe.