True Virtue: Masculinity

Today we have Charles Grubb from Building Godly Christian Men finishing out the series on True Virtue with an article about true manliness. Charles' goal for his page and as a writer "is to add value to you as a Christian man, and specifically target who and what we need to be as men as spoken through the Bible."

True masculinity. What does that mean? What does it look like? In the worldly sense, many men think to be a man you have to like cars and engines, guns, fishing and sports, and if a man doesn’t like those things then he’s not much of a man. But I know many men who don’t like a lot of those things. Does that really make them less of a man? Some men think aggressiveness and fighting makes you a man and you have to be “tough.” On the flip side, the modern world of late is blurring the lines as far as gender and now we have gender neutral clothing and bathrooms, and now we have a movement that says a child can choose their own gender despite how they are born. There are so many mixed messages and men are being told by the world that the things that makes us men is not what the world wants us to be anymore. It’s no wonder we are having a crisis with men and what their roles are and what it means to be a man. We have fewer role models to teach us.

So, what IS true authentic GODLY manhood? We are in need of a definition and an example in today’s world to give us direction and a meaning of our true roles and responsibilities as a man.

The following I have adapted from the book Raising a Modern Day Knight written by Robert Lewis. He pens the best definition of manhood that I’ve seen: “Definition of Authentic Manhood: a man who rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously, and expects the greater reward – God’s rewards.”

In addition, Authentic Manhood revolves around 3 pillars (Genesis 2:16-18, 21- 24)

A will to obey (God’s will)

A work to do (job, church, community)

A woman to love (his wife).

Let’s take a look at our definition and break the 4 parts down:

1. Rejects passivity – men and boys are naturally aggressive. It’s not taught, but is innate. But for some reason, men become passive in their homes and with their families. Why? Adam and Jesus are good examples of the extremes of rejecting and accepting manhood. Let’s take a look at Adam. In Genesis 2:16-17, God commanded Adam to take care of the garden (a work to do), not eat the forbidden fruit (a will to obey), and a woman to love (Eve). In Genesis 3 when the serpent is tempting Eve, where was Adam? The Bible says Adam was there with her (Genesis 3:6). Why didn’t Adam stop the snake? Why didn’t he protect Eve? Adam became passive in the face of his responsibility and failed all 3 pillars of manhood. It’s a natural tendency for men to avoid social responsibility. Reject social and spiritual passivity!

2. Accepts responsibility – as opposed to Adam, no man accepted these responsibilities like Jesus. In John 4:34, at the end of a hard day, the disciples are hungry. They bring food to Jesus, who hasn’t eaten all day. Jesus refuses the food saying “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” Jesus allowed these responsibilities to define His life as a man. How do you enthusiastically assume social and spiritual responsibility? Realize that the primary responsibility for others relies on you, and train yourself to recognize and assume that responsibility faithfully.

3. Leads courageously – authentic men were designed to lead, not follow. In I Corinthians 11:3 Paul states “Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman.” (I do want to note that if you look at the original Greek, the words Paul uses in this verse means that the man and the woman are equal partners, with the man as the leader.) Master your passions and embrace the truth of your rightful leadership roll as a man.

4. Expect the greater reward – Manhood is challenging. Some think of it as work, a burden, with no joy or satisfaction. Biblical manhood was never intended to be burden. Real manhood as designed by God is liberating and a means of great reward! What rewards come your way? An honorable name, respect, admiration, respect of other men, and God’s blessings.

As mentioned above, God has given men a work to do (job, church, and community), a will to obey (God’s will), and a woman to love (his wife). As you can see, Adam and Jesus are examples of the extremes of the failure of manhood versus embracing manhood. Adam failed Eve in all 3 things. Jesus had a will to obey (His Father’s), a work to do (redeem the lost), and a “woman” to love (the church). Jesus accepted these responsibilities with joy! If we embrace the 3 pillars of manhood plus live our lives according to the definition of manhood given above that is the TRUE definition of authentic manhood.

Charles Grubb is a husband, father of 2 children, a Pharmacist, and most importantly a born again Christian. He also posts on his Facebook page Building Godly Christian Men.