"All persons possessing any portion of power ought to be strongly and awfully impressed with an idea that they act in trust, and that they are to account for their conduct in that trust to the one great Master, Author, and Founder of society. " - Edmund Burke

  After seven long (although not to him) years, Jacob was at last ready to claim his bride. After doing so and lying with her, he wakes up to discover that he has actually been given the older daughter Leah! Now I'm sure many of us have wondered how he could go through the entire "honeymoon" without knowing he didn't have the woman he had worked for. Surely she did not have a bag over her head the entire time! After confronting Laban and getting the cultural explanation of marrying the oldest off first (which he might have anticipated and planned for had he done his homework ahead of time), they agreed to seven more years of labor for Rachel. Jacob had become a victim of his own treachery.
  It is important to note that Jacob could probably have put Leah away (divorced her, in modern terms) at any time...such was within his right. But instead, he kept the commitment he had made to her, meeting her needs and bearing her children. We do get the implication, however, that this was done more out of rote duty than actual love. Leah knew she was not the one preferred, and carried the hope of her husband's ultimate acceptance of her with each new life formed. A true man will be extremely careful as to the commitments he makes, knowing that either the wrong ones or worse, the right ones at the wrong times, will rob him of his ability to put his whole heart into it...beginning a chain reaction of hardship for everyone involved. As the spiritual leader of the household he has formed, he is ultimately responsible for any discord that occurs within. Unfortunately, many men feel the need to shift this responsibility or play the blame game. In whatever setting this happens, whether business or home, the true man will dispense with asking who's at fault and will seek the face of his God for wisdom in how to contribute to its reconciliation.
  Jumping ahead several years and thirteen children later, produced from one of the strangest sibling conflicts ever recorded, we find Jacob seeking to leave Laban's company and strike out on his own. However, Laban asks him to remain with a startling admission: that Jacob's presence had caused him to receive greater blessing. The true man will remain in God's path and steadfastly live by His rules...thereby bringing benefit to himself and those around him. A man of God can be used to bring His light to any environment, whether the effect of that is seen in the man's alotted time there or not.
  Jacob ultimately accepted the offer to stay, with the condition that he be given a certain portion of the livestock; which included those that were spotted, speckled, or streaked. He then vouched for himself in a way that would have been unprecedented in his younger days, but which time and trial had made more common: "And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen."(Gen. 30:33). The deceiver had, at long last, truly grown up.
  The story goes on with other equally dramatic displays of maturity on the part of the one who had formerly gained through trickery and lies. But I think we have seen enough here to understand the good things that can happen and the order that can result when men step up and be men; not in the macho sense, but with the right balance of strength and, yes, sensitivity that God ever seeks to instill in them. For the true man to be effective with those he loves, it is imperative that he learn to be ever sensitive to the needs they have, and strong enough to come through consistently: "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (I Tim. 5:8). The twin principles of strength and sensitivity can work very well together when the true man masters their balance and temperance.
  We learn this, as we learn all concepts of true manhood, from the only perfect Adam...Jesus. In Him we see a jealous bridegroom ransacking the temple markets and a passionate interceder crying tears of blood. We see a commander of demons who obviously fear Him, and a Friend trusted by little children who would come unto Him. May every true man approach Him with equal portions of, and equal respect for, these things.