Edition 17 – Godly Masculinity (Real Men Desperately Needed!)
GODLY MASCULINITY
REAL MEN DESPERATELY NEEDED!
There is perhaps no greater war being waged today, than the war against God’s created design of male and female. I think of it as the last great assault on God’s sovereign and divine choice for our lives. It was God’s choice and God’s choice alone that created you in your mother’s womb to be a male or female. Millions are rebelling against God’s choice today.
Today, there is a visceral hatred being propagated and spread throughout the culture against men. It is a deliberate attack on the very masculine nature given to us by God, and against the vitally important, God-given role for men. It has been extremely destructive and corrosive. It is neutering men, emasculating them, feminizing them, crippling them, and it is devastating women and children. It is robbing them of the men they so desperately need.
Instead of exalting godly, biblical masculinity, we are denigrating what God intended for men to be. There is no doubt whatsoever that sin has infected both men and women. It is sin that distorts men and women’s nature. It is sin that is at the root of the real problem.
However, the single greatest need of our times is for godly, biblical masculinity and godly men.
We need once again, strong, courageous, righteous, upright, self-sacrificing men with strong, godly convictions, who are willing to use their God-given aggressive, protective nature to provide for, nurture, protect, guide and shape our children’s lives and strongly and lovingly, lead our wives.
We need warlike men, who understand the wicked times we live in, who grasp the raging spiritual battles around us, who put on the full armor of God, and fight back! We need godly, masculine, fighting men who, like David, are great warriors and great lovers of God. And like Paul, who was a strong and courageous man, with convictions he would die for. Our children need to grow up in the presence of Godly masculinity, not some kind of feminized version of modern manhood.
Godly men indeed are emotional, godly men indeed are compassionate, godly men indeed are not afraid to cry, or weep. Godly men indeed are kind and thoughtful of others and in fact, they boldly stand up for the weak, the downtrodden, the bullied and the oppressed. Godly men indeed display warmth, and affection for those they love. Godly men indeed care deeply about the needs of others around them.
Godly men have a vigorous hatred for evil. They understand that evil, wickedness, and lies need to be confronted, stood up against, and if needed, assaulted and destroyed with all the fierce, vigor, and righteous indignation they possess.
Over the last year, I have had the privilege to see what few fathers ever get to see. Though the last year has been without a doubt the most painful, tormenting, heartbreaking, gut-wrenching of my entire life, I witnessed first hand all 4 men in my family, my two sons and my two sons-in-law, stand up on my behalf against a great evil and with courage, strength, vigor, and incredible self-sacrifice stand up and say, this is enough, this is wrong. Time and again, they spoke up with courage and conviction, with faith, and wisdom, and it cost them dearly. I have been amazed, astounded and extremely moved and blessed by the strength and courage and manhood they have displayed. When others remained silent, passive, and closed their eyes to the great evil that was being unleashed, they stood up, spoke out, and stood steadfast and true. When others were afraid, or just went along to get along, they were fearless, and willingly took the suffering and ridicule that came because of there godly convictions.
Men, no man is perfect, no man is without flaws and weakness, but know this:
GOD MADE YOU A MAN. GOD GAVE YOU THE DRIVE, THE DESIRES, THE UNIQUE CAPACITY TO DO WHAT ONLY MEN/FATHERS/HUSBANDS CAN.
How I praise God for the men, the hundreds of thousands of men, who courageously, selflessly struggled, fought and many died, or suffered horrific injuries, to defeat Hitler and Nazism. Left to our feminine counterparts, Hitler easily would have won, and the world today would be a miserable existence for women, children, and men
How I praise God that men, through the ages, have used their strength, their drive, the innate desire to make things better, to fix stuff, and because of, that women and children’s lives were made immensely better. Because of cars, cars with heaters, refrigerators, washing machines, houses to live in, dams were built, the earth was moved, fields were planted, and on and on it goes. How I praise God for the men, through the ages, who have stood their moral ground and courageously stood up for truth, who called a wrong by its true evil name, and many lost their lives because of it. Many have been ostracized, ridiculed and defamed, for their godly, biblical stand on important, vital issues.
When I was 11, I had a wonderful dog of my own. She was a Collie, and well, you guessed it, I had to name her Lassie. We lived in a very, very, very tiny town in Iowa. In fact, I looked it up today, it is listed as an Iowa ghost town. The general store that stood next to our house is completely shuttered, broken down, and covered with weeds. that store was owned by a very strange older couple. The wife of the owner would walk by our house and throw gravel at my younger siblings. She was quite a strange lady and she hated my little puppy, Lassie.
One day, I got home from school and the bus dropped me off in front of the house. I called for my dog, but she did not come. I went looking and looking for my dog, she was about 10 months old. I came into the house, heavy-hearted, telling my mom I could not find her. My dad arrived home a little later. I told him I couldn’t find my dog. He came outside with me and we began to walk up the grass alley behind our home, towards my strange neighbor’s yard. They had an old fashioned garage with creepy, dust-covered windows. As we got just behind the garage, my dad began calling for my dog, “Lassie, Lassie,” and we heard a whimper. My dad, who was much taller than I, looked into the window, cleaning it with the sleeve of his shirt. There was my dog, with a choker chain around her, and what looked like a piece of meat. She was weak and could barely raise her head. The door was locked on the garage. My dad took me around to the front of the house and boldly knocked on the door. I always felt safe around my dad. The old man came to the door, and barked, “What the !@$#% do you want?” My dad said, “You have my son’s dog in your garage and we want her now.” The old man said, “Get the!@#$%$ of my property,” and slammed the door.
My dad said, “Mark, follow me.” Understand, we lived way out in the country, in this tiny, tiny, 50 person town. There was no sheriff or cops nearby. We went into the house, I waited in the living room. My dad went upstairs. Next thing I know, he is walking downstairs with his rifle! My dad, the Rifleman! My eyes got big, and of course, I had no idea for sure if it was loaded or not. He said, “Follow me, Mark.” We walked down the main street about 3 houses, walked up the door, and my dad knocked again. The old man came to the door, opened it, and his eyes got huge!! My dad was standing there with his rifle simply across his arms, as you safely carry a rifle. He was not pointing it at the man. My dad boldly said, “Right now, go unlock that garage, and give us our dog.” I tear up, even now, as I remember this. The man brought my dog to us, she was very sickly and could barely lift her head up. My dad carried my dog and we got immediately into the car and drove her to the vet. The vet said, “It is a very good thing you got her here, someone has been feeding her poisoned meat. If you had gotten here 10 minutes later, she would have died.”
I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have at least seen when I was younger, a dad who was a strong man, a man of action who knew what needed to get done, and boldly did it. My dad had flaws, but I tell you this: when I was young, and my dad walked with God, the combination of his masculinity and his godliness, was a powerful combination, and I thank God for it.
Of course, I realize that you cannot solve all problems with a gun. The point of this story was my dad confronted an evil that had to be confronted. My dad displayed strength and took action. Had he tried to talk, and talk, and talk, my dog would have died while my dad was talking.
If you ask me today which dad would I want, either Lucas McCain of the TV series the “Rifleman” or Mr. Rogers? Would I want Charles Ingalls from “Little House on the Prairie”, or Mr. Rogers? HANDS DOWN, WE NEED MORE LUCAS McCAINS. WE NEED MORE CHARLES INGALLS.
MAY GOD GIVE YOU THE COURAGE TO BE THE GODLY MAN GOD MADE YOU TO BE! DON’T LET ANYONE MAKE YOU FEEL ASHAMED FOR YOUR MANHOOD.
REMEMBER PAUL’S WORDS FOUND IN 1 COR. 16:13, “BE ALERT; STAND FIRM IN THE FAITH; PLAY THE MAN; BE STRONG. LET ALL THAT YOU DO BE DONE IN LOVE.”
I highly recommend you order The Rifleman DVD series, and Little House on the Prairie DVD series and watch these with your kids. They are tremendous.
