Manhood in the 21st Century

This is a version of a talk that I gave at an Apples of Gold Banquet at Concord…

It’s not easy being a man . . .

Think about it:

• Who gets alerted when the spider needs to be killed or the weeds whacked? The man.
• Who gets awoken out of a dead sleep when it’s time to fix a leaky roof, plunge a clogged toilet, wet vac a flooded basement, or stop a ninja from burglarizing the house? The man.
• Who gets called and asked how to work the universal remote so not to miss recording a crappy romantic “dramedy” (dramatic comedy, that is) which he will later be forced to watch under the threat of perpetual married celibacy?
• And that one time that people thought I cried in public, but I can assure you, those were not tears, they were beads of sweat from having to do the hard part during delivery

That’s right, I am a MAN. Now that I have my brothers attention and to any sisters in Christ who are creeping on this blog obviously written just for men, allow me to speak realistically and sincerely for a minute. The world has given us a truly jacked up vision of true “manhood.” We live in an age where men get applauded simply for showing up inside a church, sticking around to be the father, getting married, or for not being addicted to pornography. Let’s be honest praising someone for these things is just ridiculous.

1. Fathers Pursuing Christ see their children as a blessing from God: Never give in to the notion that your children are anything but a blessing from God.
2. Fathers Pursuing Christ understand that their children are born with a bent toward evil: Children are born in total depravity. All the potential for sin of every kind is already present in seed form in every child. Parental tolerance, passivity and lack of involvement will allow the seed to germinate.
3. Fathers Pursuing Christ believe the Gospel is the Good News for Children: Leading your children to Jesus is a long-term, full-time duty given to parents. Genuine faith is prompted by God’s work in the heart of a child and assured by the Holy Spirit.
4. Fathers Pursuing Christ train their children to honor and obey: This principle of obeying parents lays the foundation for every other principle about how we should treat our fellow human beings. It also lays the foundation for how one is to obey the Heavenly Father.
5. Fathers Pursuing Christ practice and demonstrate submission:
   • Father submits to Christ
   • Family submits to father
   • Father submits to wife’s needs
   • Wife submits to Christ
   • Wife submits to the leadership of the husband as granted by God
   • Children submit to parent’s authority
   • Parents submit to children’s needs
6. Fathers Pursuing Christ love their wives: Love is the summarizing duty of fathers. Leadership flows from love. Love is sacrificial, Love is purifying, Love is caring, Love is Enduring.

P.S. Confession: Yes, I have wept publicly on those and many more occasions – and so did Jesus, so back off (John 11:35).