Recovering Biblical Masculinity
“Men, where have you gone? Please, come back.”
You have likely felt it or known it, but may not have put words to it. We are experiencing a war on masculinity.
The narrative of our time is that masculinity is a flaw by design rather than a glorious and intentional design by the Creator God. This narrative perpetuates the idea that it is not okay to be a man, leaving us men confused how to live in this age.
As Robert Cunningham put it, “Men are afraid or even ashamed to be men.” And in this climate we have seen extremes emerge. On one end, men have placated, forsaking God’s design for the anti-male sentiment. On the other end men have rebelled toward a hyper-masculinity that dishonors God, women and fellow men. Cunningham points out these are both forms of surrender, taking the easy path versus fighting for a truer, biblical masculinity. Of those rebelling he says they are “surrendering their masculinity to vices and folly and triviality that appears safer and more comforting than a world that has declared war on their masculinity.”
Other than placating or rebelling, a third and, likely, more common state has resulted in men – avoidance. As Rachel Drucker of the New York Times wrote in her article titled, “Men, where have you gone? Please, come back.”:
“You [men] are not gone, but your presence is thinning… you’ve retreated not in malice, but in something softer and harder all at once. Avoidance, exhaustion, disrepair.”
Again, Cunningham comments, "Their [men’s] significance is being rediscovered in their absence. Masculinity has always served as a taken for granted foundation of society. Nobody thinks about a foundation until the foundation begins to crack and then we notice and even panic.”
The foundation has cracked. The world has noticed and is panicking. Though it may not admit it, the world that declared war on masculinity is now begging for its return. Not in the form of the poor alternatives from “manosphere influencers”, but a biblical masculinity created and purposed by God and shaped by the gospel of Christ.
At The Vine, we want to see all men flourish in God’s grace and to do that, we must rediscover God’s design for our masculinity.
For the next several weeks we will explore biblical masculinity with the help of Every Square Inch’s podcast series, “The Mighty Meekness of Masculinity”. Each week, an episode will be posted with questions to reflect on. We encourage you to listen, reflect, discuss with your spouse and other men, and go to the Lord in prayer asking Him to make you into the man He has designed you to be for His glory and for the good of others.
Episode: The Mighty Meekness of Masculinity - Part 1
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts
Reflection
- How have you responded to this war on masculinity?
- What lies have you believed about your worth as a man? (in your family, work or community)
- Where do you see yourself falling short of God’s design and need to ask for help from God and others?