1 Kings 2:1-3
“When David's time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, "I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,”.
Acknowledge God’s role in your life. Trust in Him and let Him direct your paths - Pro 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Fear Him, and honor Him with your possessions - Pro 3:7-10 “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.” Accept His chastisement in your life - Pro 3:11-12 “My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” Let the Lord be your confidence, and He will bless you - Pro 3:25-35 -- As Jesus said, seek first His kingdom and righteousness - Mt 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Such are the things involved in proving oneself to be a real man (cf. 1 Kin 2:2-3). If Solomon were your father, he would also counsel you regarding the opposite sex. Take heed to your relationships. Avoid the harlot. The woman who would entice you, but destroy you in the end - Pro 5:1-14. The adulteress who would destroy your reputation and friendships - Pro 6:23-35. Who destroys even strong men through her seductions - Pro 7:1-27 -- A single act of passion can alter and destroy one’s life!
Love your wife. Rejoice and be enraptured with the wife of your youth - Pro 5:15-19 “Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.” The Lord will know those who look elsewhere for love - Pro 5:20-23 “Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress? For a man's ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths. The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.” The Lord would have you live joyfully with your wife - Ecc 9:9 “Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.” -- God loves marriage, and will bring to judgment those who defile it - He 13:4 “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
Finally, if Solomon were your father, he would have you “Prove Yourself A Man” by counseling you to take heed to your character. Avoid debt and sloth. Debt enslaves, especially when cosigning for another - Pro 6:1-5 “My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger, if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.”; 17:18 “One who lacks sense gives a pledge and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.” Laziness will bring poverty - Pro 6:6-11 “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”; 10:4 “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”; 13:4 “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” -- So Christians are to be industrious, and avoid indebtedness - Ro 12:11 “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”; 13:8 “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”
Know what is an abomination. There are things that God hates - Pro 6:16-19 “There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.”; 8:13 “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.” Even our worship can be an abomination - Pro 15:8 “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.”; 28:9 “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” -- Thus we need to know what is the Father’s will that pleases Him - Mt 7:21-23 ‘"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'”
Other points could be made, but these go a long way to proving one to be a man...
Taking heed to one’s counselors (who will you listen to?)
Taking heed to one’s goals (what will you do?)
Taking heed to one’s relationships (who will you love?)
Taking heed to your character (whom will you become?)
If we have earthly fathers who offer spiritual guidance in becoming men, thank God for such a wonderful blessing! Benefit from the counsel and instruction they offer! But if we do not have such fathers remember that you have a Heavenly Father - Psa 68:5 “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.” One who has provided much guidance and counsel in His Word - Josh 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Let the Word of God, passed down, preserved, and proven by generations of fathers and sons, be your guide to “Prove Yourself A Man”...
