Men are odd creatures. That's not to say women aren't, but this is a book for men. Women should feel free to read it. In fact, most of this book easily applies to either sex. I, being of the masculine type, write with men in view. At the very least, women ought to read this book to have more awareness of the sorry excuses we men sometimes give.

The title for this book is obviously tongue in cheek. I do write with the hope that this book offers enough wisdom to slow down the sales of faddish men's books. As a result, if men begin to redirect their book buying money to more worthy materials, I will be an extremely satisfied writer.

This book is divided into six sections. Not seven mind you, but six. I would like to start a revolution of six. I know seven is the perfect number and many authors like to use it, but I would like to start a trend with the number six. Granted, it is part of the "mark of the Beast," but then again this is a book for men. All the chapter titles could easily fit under the first section: our relationship with God. In that sense the placing of the respective chapters under the various sections is somewhat arbitrary. However, I have sought to place the chapters where they seemed most relevant for the logic and flow of the book.

The Last Men's Book You'll Ever Need is obviously a quick read. Space limitations forced me to spend significant time thinking through how best to structure the book. It actually was a fun process. The brevity of the various chapters means that issues can't be developed in great detail. I do try to approach these issues in a way that provides an angle on the particular issue that many of the other "men's" books don't. Please feel free to pick and choose what chapters you want to read first. You will find discussion and application questions at the end of each chapter.

These questions are designed to spawn further conversation, and ultimately, foster the desire to grow spiritually. They are well suited for both small group study and personal reflection.

I wrote this book from the conviction that a touch of humor and a thoroughly biblical message can teach us "old truths in fresh ways". There are potential pitfalls with this approach, but I have decided that the advantages outweigh the risks. But make no mistake about it. This is a serious book that hopefully will give a few good laughs along the way. G.K. Chesterton's words are worth considering, "For solemnity flows out of men naturally; but laughter is a leap. It is easy to be heavy: hard to be light. Satan fell by the force of gravity". Charles Spurgeon, a nineteenth century preacher who took God very seriously, had a deep appreciation for humor:

I must confess that I would rather hear people laugh than I would see them asleep in the house of God; and I would rather get the truth into them through the medium of ridicule than I would have the truth neglected, or leave the people to perish through lack of reception of the truth. I do believe in my heart that there may be as much holiness in a laugh as in a cry; and that, sometimes, to laugh is the better thing of the two, for I may weep, and be murmuring, and repining [expressing discontent], and thinking all sorts of bitter thoughts against God; while, at another time, I may laugh the laugh of sarcasm against sin.I do not know why ridicule is to be given up to Satan as a weapon to be used against us, and not to be employed by us as a weapon against him.

Martin Luther and others agree with that assessment.

Speaking of humor, I had the privilege during the summer of 2000 to interview the well-known political commentator, William F. Buckley, for a television special that aired nationally on PBS. You will read more about that in the book. In that wide-ranging interview, Buckley told me that humor was "salubrious". I nodded knowingly, but later found out this meant "that which promotes health". Indeed. Humor heals.

Humor can be both relevant and life giving.

Crude and bawdy humor is not difficult to come up with. Any observant person with a little bit of creativity can pull that off. However, I believe that belief in God can stir us to have the best humor possible. God allows us to experience the difficulties of life, but put them in a bigger context. There is another world where every "tear will be wiped away" and joy will be without end.

Whatever your view of humor, there is no doubt that God is the most "salubrious" being in the universe. I pray this book makes you more convinced of that.

Notes

G.K. Chesterton.s words are worth considering, G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy: The Romance of Faith (New York, NY: Doubleday, 1990), 121.

Charles Spurgeon, a nineteenth century preacher C.H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing Company, 1954), 389.

Martin Luther and others agree with that assessment. Luther's "nemesis," Erasmus, said that many writers throughout history utilized humor effectively. The Essential Erasmus, trans. by John P. Dolan (New York, NY: Signet Classics, 1964), 99. The Praise of Folly is Erasmus's best-known book. One of my favorite parts is where Erasmus says, "ignorance is bliss," but then goes on to explain how that works!