Be watchful,
stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
~1
Corinthians 16:13-14 (ESV)
A while back a good
and godly friend—man’s man—posted a video on Facebook called, “The three most damaging words you can tell
your son”. Once I learned those three horribly damaging words were be a man I responded that I was shocked
he would post such a toxic video. After a quite heated online discussion
between he, his sons, and myself, his wife a wonderful Christian woman, who
raised three sons, entered the conversation.
I
laughed out loud at her response, “Okay guys, calm down, I’m the one who posted
that video on my husband’s account!”
Soon after, I spoke to another man who was confused by this
culture’s message for males to, “Man Up!”
After considerable thought on these two stories I had an epiphany.
It’s confusing when the males telling younger guys to “Man
up!” aren’t men at all, but adult children in fully developed bodies. Those
three words “Be a man!” damage younger males when the message they receive
comes though a father figure who’s lives less than a man.
A man is as a man does. He doesn’t
have to call others to “Man up!” or “Be a man!” He simply lives a manly life.
Manhood is about—being a real man— protecting integrity, fighting apathy,
pursuing God passionately, leading courageously, and finishing strong.”
A real man
calls others into manhood because he is one. He’s a man.
To be called a man is a great compliment, possibly the
greatest compliment a man can give to another.
“Son, that
guy—right there—is a man. Listen to him!”
Be cautious about referring to males as men. They aren’t the
same. I can act like a man today and backslide into maleness tomorrow when my
choices reflect a child more than the man God ordained me to be. Younger men
are confused enough without impish—impotent males—pulling them into culture’s
sorry excuse for a man by a lifestyle that doesn’t match their macho man words.
Younger males navigating the
murky waters of manhood need real men
who know the way, go the way, and show the way to guide them. Only men can
impart manhood. Only a man can call a male into the awesome responsibility and
elite group proudly called a man.
So, “Be watchful, stand
firm in the faith, act like men, be strong
(1 Corinthians 16:13-14).
