Show yourself a man
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion… over all the earth….”
So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. –Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV)
Recent events in our culture have me thinking about what it means to be a man, specifically, a man of God. I find it surreal that in the days leading up to a time set aside to give thanks for those who made tremendous sacrifices so that we could enjoy the blessings of freedom, we would be indulging a debate over whether males can become females, and vice versa. The very idea is a physical, medical, and biological absurdity, and yet somehow our collective psychological “enlightenment” now trumps that reality. But the DNA is persistent – every cell of our bodies knows the truth….
I am not unsympathetic to those who genuinely struggle with gender dysphoria. I cannot imagine the trauma that must have occurred to create the self-hatred that would bring someone to the point of rejecting the person God created them to be, nor the mental anguish that would be experienced by an individual in such a confused and conflicted state. But I firmly believe that our society would be demonstrating something much closer to compassion if, rather than indulging delusional thinking and re-arranging our culture to accommodate, and even celebrate such fantasies, we instead sought to help those people identify the sources of their trauma and work through the fallout that resulted from it.
In some of his last words to Solomon, David told his son to “Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the LORD your God….” As men, we have a God-given responsibility to steward, or husband, the things entrusted to our care. The most valuable thing that will ever be entrusted to most of us is our marriage and family. And the most important aspect of that stewardship is to provide spiritual leadership for our wives and children. To ignore this is to go AWOL on our assignment, and our purpose even, as men. Paul made this clear in his letter to the Ephesus church.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. –Ephesians 5:21, 25, 28, 32-33 (NIV)
There are two ditches men tend toward – passivity and bullying. Manhood is found in neither ditch. Rather, it is found in loving sacrificially, as Jesus demonstrated toward His bride, the church. Yes, as a full reading of this passage makes clear, wives are to submit to the leadership of their husbands. This task is made infinitely easier when husbands provide Christ-like leadership that is worthy of respect. This can look different from family to family, but make no mistake, men: The buck stops here. God will require an accounting from us regarding how we shepherded our families. This shepherding includes recognizing and standing for truth in a corrupt culture in a fallen world.
In Genesis 3, we sadly read of the fall of mankind. The serpent approached Eve first. Where was Adam? Close enough to take some fruit from the hand of his wife, but apparently not tuned in enough to intervene and protect the heart of his bride from the lies of the enemy. When God asked him about what happened, he immediately deflected blame to Eve, and ultimately onto God, who had gifted him with this beautiful helper. Adam went 0-for-3 that day….
God help us. Being a real man is hard. It won’t always make us popular, even in our own homes. We won’t do it right all the time. But with the help of the Holy Spirit, we must: Be strong, show ourselves to be men, and keep the charge of the LORD our God. Future generations are counting on us.
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. –Hebrews 4:12-13 (NIV)