Carla Bianca V. Ravanes
By now you may have already heard of the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements scuttling around the globe jumpstarted by the most prominent names in Hollywood. With all the hoopla surrounding the said movement, one cannot help but think, what does it take to be a good man?
When you jump onto Google and type in “good man,” without a doubt you will come across a million blogposts from both women and men defining what it is to be a good man in today’s society.
There are many opinions and if you are not anchored to real values and beliefs, you can easily get tricked into thinking that a good man is defined by the many women he has been with, how rich he is, and so on. Thankfully, society is changing. Now our culture is calling for responsible men who nurture and care for women, men who believe in the truth of God and men who walk alongside women instead of walking ahead of them.
To raise a family in today’s climate can be tricky and takes a lot of faith and being grounded in the reality of what Jesus taught. One such man is Mike Sanchez, the husband of my good friend, Nouelle, Mike caught the attention of this column because of his inspirational and thought-provoking posts on his blog,
writtenbymike.wordpress.com, where he details the struggles and triumphs of becoming the head of a home in today’s reality. In his blog, Mike is vulnerable, sharing what it is like to be a father, an entrepreneur, and his many failures and victories in the startup world.
His vulnerability as the man of the house, allowing himself to be honest about the realities of life, was what prompted me to begin the discussion with him on how he was able to bounce back from seasons where he felt like he wasn’t good enough to be the man of the household.
Mike Sanchez with family
“There were times when I still feel like I do not have what it takes to be a father. I am extremely introverted while my wife, Nouelle, is the exact opposite. She is the person who introduced me to God and that relationship is what helped me understand what is expected of me as a man,” he shared.
“At home, we practice the first principle thinking at home and do away with conventions. Although the father is usually seen as the leader of the family, me and Nouelle share the spotlight equally in leading our family and most especially in raising our children. We understand that each one of us is unique in his or her own way and we try to respect that and make sure everyone’s opinion is considered,” the father of two added.
Mike’s biblical foundations is also reflected in the work he does as an e-commerce solutions provider in Southeast Asia along with a renewed interest in technology and startups.
“In this time and age, one can get lost in the seemingly tireless world of money-making that they often forget what’s really important. One of my goals is to overhaul how organizations work by making sure everyone is engaged and feels included. Especially in an emerging market like the Philippines, it’s far to easy for us to embrace autocracy by default while dream of a real democracy. My vision is for organizations to embrace meritocracy where people are rewarded based on their contribution regardless of their position or seniority. An uphill battle yet attainable if we work together and work hard for it,” he expounded on his ideals.
When asked what defines a man of God, he responded, “A man of God is someone who doesn’t depend on his own abilities and principles but on God’s instead. A man of God is someone who isn’t worried about being ostracized because of his belief for as long as he’s doing the work of God. A man of God is someone who looks to God first and foremost to determine his goal and not the other way around. Sounds unattainable but just like everything else in life, possible through God’s grace as mentioned in Philippians 4:13.”
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