A reader yesterday commented that while I discussed some things that masculinity is not yesterday, I never got around to saying what it is. Point well taken. However, there is a good reason for such. I, and I say this to all my readers, am still on that quest. It is a shame that in our society today, we have no idea what it means to be a man.
I did list many things I do not believe it is. Why? Because I believe that these stereotypes only do us harm. It is a sad truth that many do not fit into these areas. Many a young man is confused and not sure where to go in life and that has been due to a lack of true role models and a plethora of bad.
Yet I firmly believe that this is something that must be reclaimed for our time. Now I hold the same for femininity. Why do I not write on it? Because I am the guy and it is far easier to write from my perspective. As much as I try to understand women, I think it is best for women to explain femininity and men to explain masculinity.
However, I am certain this will effect how we treat the women in our lives and how they pursue femininty. If men are truly being men, I believe that women will truly be women. Generally, the man has had the most sway in each unit of society. If a husband is won to Christ, it is far more likely that his family will be than for any other member.
I also believe that while psychology can help us in many ways, it is Scripture that will be most essential in revealing what masculinity is to be. Psychology can help us reach the goal of course, but I believe that Scripture is that which will ultimately reveal masculinity in explaining how we are in the image of God who contains masculinity in himself.
For now though, it seems that we simply have boys running around in bodies of adults. We have too many men that look at women as playthings. C.S. Lewis spoke about this type of person and how people would say that he’s looking for a woman. Lewis told us that the truth is that a woman is the last thing he wants to meet. He wouldn’t know what to do with her.
Why? Such a person is simply looking for pleasure and a female body happens to be the apparatus by which he wants to earn that pleasure. Were he to meet a real woman, he could be sure that she would not surrender herself so easily and the person would not know what to do.
I believe this will play a part in how men father their children. I do believe a man should play with his children and enjoy them, but he should also discipline them and teach them how to live godly. A man should work to care for his family, but when work is done, it is done. He should then come home and be a father and a husband. He should also be of good reputation in the church.
Young sons? They need to grow up and be able to take risks. Look at all you see. It is here because someone took a risk. Someone took a risk with the idea called a computer and I am here writing. I am here period because my dad decided to take a risk in dating my mother and apparently, it worked out good. This blog is going up because I decided to take the risk that I could come up with something to write about every night. I am living where I am because I decided the dream I had to pursue was worth a risk.
Thus, I think our young sons should be able to take risks or else they will not accomplish anything. Our men should have emotions, but they should not be ruled by emotions. They should be able to cry at what they ought to cry about and be able to laugh at what they ought to laugh about.
Dear readers. Do I know for sure what masculinity is? No. Not entirely. I have clues, but not the whole idea. I believe that is how powerfully the spell of naturalism has been worked on us. However, rest assured that I have no desire to stop searching and when I get something more definitive, readers of Deeper Waters will be the first to know.
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