Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too.
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster,
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make a heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And—which is more—you'll be a Man, my son!
~Rudyard Kipling~
I saw a interesting story on the evening news the other night about how traditional male masculinity is now becoming a thing of the past in our modern politically correct culture. If that's true then I shoulder some of the blame for it's demise. See, I was brought up to believe that a man did man things. Men worked, earned their living, provided for their families and, when needed, fought and died for what they believed in. This was the essence of being a man. Every now and then I will still go back and read once again the book Wild At Heart by John Eldgredge. I read about how a christian man yearns to be. Wild, unafraid and prone to adventure. I guess the folks at Fox news didn't seek out his opinion before running their recent story on the decline of the masculine male. Seriously, I really think that there is a segment of our society that truly resents who I am and what I stand for. I get it. Don't get me wrong, I didn't do this on purpose just to tick someone in some liberal think tank off. I didn't choose who I was going to turn out to be. That, folks, is definately above my pay grade. No, I simply played the cards I was dealt. I'm sure that my mom, being a christian lady, prayed that her unborn son would be healthy. Hey, her prayers were answered! Yes, I am healthy and yet not normal so it would seem. So, how is it that we got here? How did we get from a place where guys like John Wayne were idolized as ideal men to where we are now? If I'm to be a man, I need to know this. Am I responsible for screwing up the entire gender indentity of our culture? Well, it depends on who it is you listen to. Like I said, I came up in an era where men did as I do. Back in the 70's you rarely heard a man lamenting the fact that he seldom showed his emotions. Hell, my own father was as stoic as can be most of the time. Dad was always building something out of wood be it furniture or cabinets. He seldom spent his time worrying if he was compassionate or understanding. That wasn't who he was. He was rough and tumble, quiet and at times too ornery for his own good. He drank his beer and hung out with his friends. That was my dad. Through it all we never had any doubt that my dad was a man. So it was that his youngest son followed in his footsteps, for the most part.
11When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
1 Corinthians 13: 11 NKJV
A friend of mine recently wrote of a shirt someone had gifted him which, in our current society, could cause him some trouble. The inscription on the shirt stated simply "MAN UP." Now, I get the reference of the shirt, but most well meaning christians most likely wouldn't. What does it mean to man up? Well, most people might consider this a put down. However, in our group of friends it might just be seen as a challange. See, we've spent quite a bit of time searching and talking about the kind of man that Jesus was. I have to admit that the man Jesus is pretty good role model for any man or someone who is a man and yet thinks he might not be. Who was the man Jesus? Jesus was a man who worked with his hands, learned his trade at his fathers side and hung out with his friends. Above all, Jesus was a man who put others before Himself. I believe that Jesus did plenty of guy stuff, but He also had a definate compassionate side as well. Despite this, not too many people look upon Jesus as being weak in any way. On the contrary, Jesus is constantly seen as one of the most admired men in history. This same man who took pity on the poor, mercy on the sick and wept for a dead friend (relax, he was just sleeping) is often held up as a sparkling example of how a man should be. Yes, Jesus was all of that and more. However, if you were to ask the Pharisees of His day you might get a different picture of who Jesus was. To these Jewish authorities, Jesus was a rebel, a threat and a blasphemer. Like the news story I saw, our own view of Christ may very well depend on who it is we're listening to. I know Jesus as a loving and merciful Lord who loved me before anyone else would. I know Jesus as a selfless man who gave Himself for my sins. I also know Jesus as one who took a tough stand against those who threw aside the name of the Father or mistreated others. The man Jesus was both masculine and meek, the perfect combination. Do I need to model myself after Jesus? Not really, because He's already provided for that as well. Whether Jesus ever thought about what it took to be a man or not is irrelevant. What I am sure of is that He lives through me today {Galations 2:20}. That's right, the man Jesus lives on in the very one who has seemingly upended our cultural gender indentity. Well, if you really buy into that I have some advice for you...MAN UP!
20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galations 2:20 NKJV
~The Man Scott~
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