In my upcoming book Warrior, Poet, Priest: Rediscovering Godly Masculinity, I use a coin to explain that while men and women are different, they are not as drastic as some people might think. While I was thinking of different topics to ask the AI about I figured this might be an interesting one. I was right. I asked two different AIs how they would use a coin to compare masculinity and femininity, and this is what they said:
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WordPress’s AI
Coins are often used as a metaphor to represent different aspects of life, including masculinity and femininity. Let’s explore this metaphor further:
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here is the introductory chapter in my upcoming book Warrior, Poet, Priest: Rediscovering Godly Masculinity. I hope that you not only enjoy reading it, but would also leave some constructive critiques or ideas for improvement.
Introduction
Why do some words have straightforward definitions while others seem elusive? Have you ever been asked by a friend or a three-year-old to explain the meaning of a word, only to draw a blank? I certainly have. One reason, I suppose, is that some words are inherently simple. Dog. Bird. Car. These are all words that can be easily explained. Another reason, I believe, is that some words convey objective concepts while others lean toward the abstract. Male and Female are straightforward terms because they describe a biological distinction, making them more objective. Males possess XY chromosomes, while females possess XX. This difference affects the entire makeup and development of human beings. Males tend to be taller, averaging around five feet nine inches, while women tend to be closer to 5 feet four inches. Women develop breasts and hips men definitely don’t. Men tend to have more angular and bulkier physiques, whereas women tend to have curvier and slimmer ones. Even the terms man and woman have clear definitions. They simply refer to adult males and females. However, not all words are easily definable. Masculinity, for instance, should be as easy to define as male/female or man/woman, but it isn’t. Nowadays, it has become an incredibly frustrating word. The frustration comes from the fact that there is no universal definition for it. Some definitions are overly wordy, failing to capture the essence in a way that everyone can comprehend. For example, Merriam-Webster defines masculinity as “the quality or nature of the male sex: the quality, state, or degree of being masculine or manly.” That definition is slightly helpful, but here is one from Taneasha White of PsychCentral that makes very little sense.
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The role of discipline in Christian masculinity can be understood through the lens of biblical teachings and principles. While the concept of masculinity can vary among individuals and cultures, the following points offer a perspective on how discipline can play a role in Christian masculinity:
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Discipline in Self-Control: The Bible emphasizes the importance of self-control and discipline in the life of a Christian man. This includes controlling one’s emotions, desires, and actions. In 1 Corinthians 9:27, the apostle Paul writes, “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” This verse highlights the idea that discipline is necessary to live a godly and righteous life.
Spiritual Discipline: Christian men are encouraged to engage in spiritual disciplines such as prayer, reading Scripture, and meditation. These practices help strengthen their faith, develop a deeper relationship with God, and provide a foundation for making wise decisions.
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In my last podcast, I talked about kind of dressing and how a person should dress, or more so how Christians should view the way we dress, how we shouldn’t be too harsh on people, uh, depending on how they look, that our cultural standards should not be imported into our spiritual standards. During that time I mentioned modesty very quickly, and I said I wanted to make a podcast on that, and this is that podcast.
The concept of modesty has shaped or been, been shaped and has adapted throughout the centuries as Christianity has progressed from early Christianity to modern times. And the idea has gone up and down about how much we should focus on modesty and really what modesty is in general. So in preparation for this podcast, I looked up some Bible verses.
that kind of discuss the idea of modesty and really what we should do. And to be honest, the Bible isn’t really that, uh, There’s not a whole lot mentioned in the Bible about modesty, or at least rules for modesty. Modesty is something that is mentioned both for men and for women, so this pertains to our talk on godly masculinity throughout this series.
But it is not extremely focused on, and it is pretty vague about what modesty is or how we should remain modest. We have one Timothy two, nine through 10, which says likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness with good works.
So, what Paul is saying here is he’s not so much focusing on the outward apparel of what women should look like, but he’s trying to make the point that our attention should not be first on outward appearance, then on inward appearance, but it should be primarily on inward appearance. And then do your outward stuff.
So he’s saying they shouldn’t adorn themselves with pearls, with gold, with, when he says braided hair, he’s talking about the, uh, Roman styles of extravagant braids. We’re not talking about a, you know, simple little one braid down the back, you know, pigtails or a French braid or a Dutch braid or, you know, a million other types of out there.
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He’s not talking about that. He’s talking about the overabundance of materialistic clothing that the Romans had, just like we have today. If this was written today, Paul would talk about the, uh, over extravagant nails that women can wear. They spend way too much money on getting these nails that aren’t really useful.
They’re only for, uh, showing that a person has a lot of money. Or we talk about, you know, expensive wigs, hair extensions, makeup. The amount of money women put in makeup is ridiculous. And I’m not saying that people shouldn’t wear makeup, but the Uh, ability to spend hundreds of dollars on makeup is very real.
On top of that, we have just haircuts and this is given to men. Men can spend just as much on haircuts now as women. Men care about their outward appearance just as much as the quote unquote stereotypical girl did. That, that’s where, you know, the comments about, you know, uh, how girls, you know, spend so much time on their looks that is no longer just a.
female stereotype. Men fall into that just as much. Men spend, spend way too much money on their extravagant clothes, their shoes. Shoes is a big one for men nowadays. They spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of shoes that they then don’t want to wear. Or when they do wear them, they have to wear them very carefully.
So that they don’t crease them, which I find absolutely ridiculous that they spend one to 300 if not more on a pair of shoes that aren’t meant for use. When I spend money on a pair of shoes, which I like work boots, not cowboy boots necessarily, um, but more work dress boots. And I’ve spent over 100 on a pair of shoes before.
But those shoes were meant to be worn and used and get that worked in look. I didn’t care that they had creases in them. I didn’t care that the, uh, tanning look was starting to fade partly cause you can just, you know, reapply coloring to them and wax them and you’re good to go. But the shoes were meant to be used.
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And in my personal opinion, the more used they looked, the actual better they looked. So this idea that And what Paul was trying to get to, when he was talking to Timothy, was that we need to focus on our inward person, not the outward appearance. And all too often, Christians in today’s world focus just as much on the outward appearance in their criticism as they do on how they actually look.
You will see Christians talking about how, Oh, that person isn’t dressed modestly. That person looks like this. That person looks like that, you know, insert whatever, uh, insult you would like about them. And at the same time, they’re focusing just as much on their looks. As the other person. Now, my wife grew up in a world being in the South where the ultra conservative told women that basically the only thing that they could do was.
You know, become a wife and a mother. And the way they needed to do that was basically entice a man. It’s kind of what it sounded like that, you know, it didn’t matter if they went and got an education and didn’t matter if they had a good job because once they got married and they had kids and they were going to be a stay at home mom.
And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a stay at home mom. My mother was for the most of my life. If that’s what you want to do, then awesome. But if your preparation for marriage is not becoming a holy, godly individual and a better person in every area you can, intellectually, mentally in general, physically, stuff like that, then what you’re doing is only focusing on the physical.
And so they talked about things of how to put on makeup. They talked about how to basically change the way they look and only focus on the way they look so that a man will, you know, fall in love with them and marry them. And that is exactly what Paul is talking about not to do. So conservatives are just as guilty of falling into this materialistic trap as the secular world is, and that is what Paul was getting at.
He was telling Timothy, do not let your congregation, because he was a, what we would call a pastor now, do not let your congregation focus on the material. It doesn’t matter what your hair looks like if you have the newest Roman trends. You know, today would be the newest stuff coming out of New York, whatever the, the, this year’s fashion is.
That doesn’t matter if your spiritual or spirituality and your inside self. So your character, your morals, your spiritual growth is in shambles. If you are poor in spirit and not in the way Christ meant on the Sermon on the Mount. But if you are lacking in spirituality, but you are a 10 when it comes to physical attraction, you have a problem.
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And that is what Paul was talking about. And on top of that, we have other verses like 1 Peter 3, 3 4, which talks about the exact same thing. He says, Do not let your adorning be external, the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry. Or, the clothing you wear, but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the impoverishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
Now, a lot of people try and focus only on women with this, but I think it can be applied just as much to men. And a lot of people get annoyed that it talks about women having a gentle spirit, except they forget that the exact same command was given to all Christians. earlier. So Paul, or Peter in this case, is just reminding the women that they’re supposed to be, you know, calm.
They’re supposed to be gentle, because so are men. Men are supposed to be calm. Men are supposed to be gentle. These are fruit of the spirit. Men are supposed to be joyful. Men are supposed to be peacemakers. We have a long list of things, and men and women are both supposed to be things. These are not. This is something that I’m talking about in my book that parallels this podcast.
The traits of Christianity are not gendered specific, they’re not gendered at all. Whatever command is given to women is given to men. Even at the beginning in Genesis, when God gives the command to men and women. He says to both of them to subdue the world and be fruitful. He does not tell men to go subdue the world and women to be fruitful.
No, God tells both. So that means women are supposed to be included in the subduing the world part and men are supposed to be included in the Uh, raising children part. These are not gendered roles. And this, again, goes into that modesty thing. When we focus on what we wear, or when we focus on what other people wear so that we can judge them, we are moving away from what Paul and Peter preached about 2, 000 years ago.
And if they talked about it then, It was obviously a problem, and clearly, it has not changed. I hear just as many people talk about what someone’s wearing. Talked about that in the last podcast, I’m talking about it again. We focus on things that do not matter if the spirit is still broken. Once the spirit is broken, then you can, or once the spirit is fixed and a person is pursuing the path of sanctification, then you can sit down and say, Hey.
You know, do you think what you’re wearing is appropriate for a daughter of God or a son of God? But even that conversation is still very subjective to your culture, because what we wear today is definitely not what they would have worn 2, 000 years ago. It would have been highly inappropriate, both on the men and women’s side.
So even when you have those conversations… still be very careful with how you approach them. Because again, your spiritual walk and the cultural world don’t always mix. So if your standard for a cultural outfit, your cultural ideas of what a person should wear may not match spiritually for what God truly cares about.
So modesty is a very deep well, and it focuses more on the spiritual than it does the physical. This is a very important thing to remember.
Masculinity is often associated with strength, resilience, and discipline. These qualities are not innate, but rather cultivated through intentional actions and self-reflection. In this post, we will explore how discipline plays a crucial role in shaping one’s masculinity and fostering personal growth.
Understanding Discipline
Discipline can be defined as the ability to make consistent and conscious choices that align with one’s goals and values. It requires self-control, perseverance, and a strong sense of commitment. Often misunderstood as a harsh and rigid concept, discipline is, in fact, a powerful tool to help individuals achieve their desired outcomes.
Discipline as a Catalyst for Personal Growth
In the realm of masculinity, discipline serves as a catalyst for personal growth. When men embrace discipline, they empower themselves to push beyond their comfort zones and unlock their full potential. It enables them to overcome challenges, develop healthy habits, and cultivate a sense of purpose in their lives.
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Physical Discipline
Physical discipline is perhaps the most widely recognized aspect of masculinity. Engaging in regular exercise, maintaining a nutritious diet, and prioritizing physical well-being are all components of physical discipline. By taking care of their bodies, men not only strengthen themselves physically, but also foster mental clarity and emotional resilience.
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I know a lot of Christians are afraid of AI, but I think that it is a powerful tool that can be used to help, not hurt. It most definitely can be a dangerous tool in the wrong hands, but so can a pencil. A tool is just a tool, and I don’t think that any believer should be scared of it at the moment. This is why I want to start a mini-series conversing with AI on the topic of masculinity. Here is my first conversation:
How Would You Define Christian Masculinity?
Christian masculinity can be understood as an expression of masculinity within the framework of Christian beliefs and values. It involves embodying the teachings of Jesus Christ and striving to live according to the principles outlined in the Bible. Christian masculinity places an emphasis on virtues such as love, humility, compassion, forgiveness, and servant leadership. It encourages men to be responsible, respectful, and protective of their families, communities, and those in need. Christian masculinity also values the importance of spiritual growth, integrity, and moral conduct. It is important to note that interpretations of Christian masculinity can vary among individuals and denominations, but the common thread is the integration of faith and virtue in shaping one’s identity and behavior as a man of God.
How Would You Define Cultural Masculinity?
Cultural masculinity refers to the set of beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and expectations society associates with being a man within a specific culture or society. It encompasses the collective understanding of what it means to be masculine, as shaped by social, historical, and cultural factors. Cultural masculinity varies across different societies and may be influenced by factors such as religion, traditions, social norms, media, and gender roles. It often involves traits and values such as strength, assertiveness, independence, toughness, competitiveness, and self-reliance. However, it’s important to note that the specific characteristics and expectations of cultural masculinity can change over time as societal perceptions and gender roles evolve.
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How’s it going, everybody? I hope you’re having a wonderful evening, afternoon, morning, whatever time it is when you were listening to this, um, today. I’m going to talk about something that I think I might have mentioned before, but I can’t quite remember if I have. It’s been a really long time, so I’m going to talk about it again.
As you know, this whole podcast, or this segment of my podcast, Is talking about masculinity, it’s talking about different aspects of manhood, about how men are supposed to act based off of the Bible and the interplay between men, women, other things like that. So I’m going to talk about men’s issues, I’m going to talk about things that relate to men, issues that might pertain to women, um, things that men do that pertain to women.
What we do to women, um, and things like that. So it’s a very wide variety of things and a large, broad topic. Today, I want to talk about dress. Now this might seem odd for a men’s podcast, but the way we present ourselves, the way we dress, is one, very important. And two, a, an area that a lot of Christians tend to get very judgmental about.
I’ve grown up in the West Coast, I moved to the South, and during my time in both areas, I have seen a lot of judgment. When it comes to how someone dresses, if they have earrings, nose rings, rings in general, bracelets. And what I’ve started to notice is that none of these are biblical. There is no biblical passage that talks about how a man or a woman should or should not dress, minus two passages that are more for religious purposes.
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So the first one is found in the Old Testament, and it has to do with, you know, there’s one section about the priestly garb, what a priest was supposed to wear when they worked in the temple. That does not matter to us anymore. We are not physical priests. We are not workers in the temple. We are the church.
It’s a different thing. A few, uh, sections that talk about, you know, cultural dress. Again, that does not apply to us. We do not live in the second, first centuries B. C. And then there’s one in the New Testament that I can think of. And if there’s more, please let me know. But there’s one that talks about directly to women, and it says, and this is where Paul is telling women that, you know, they shouldn’t wear extravagant clothes and an overabundance of jewelry.
I might say jewelry at all, I don’t quite remember. But what he was saying there was that don’t put that first. Don’t put your outward appearance before your inward appearance. Become beautiful on the inside. Before you try and make yourself beautiful on the outside. And he’s also saying that this might have been his belief.
And I kind of agree with him that a woman is more beautiful when she is not, uh, over adorned in. Stuff. Makeup. Jewelry. I think woman is most beautiful when she is simple. And now, I’m not saying, you know, women don’t wear makeup, don’t wear jewelry, I don’t care. But, women that enhance their own natural beauty through makeup instead of trying to change the way they look through makeup, I think are more beautiful.
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But that’s a side note. So, Paul and the rest of the Bible have Never told people how to dress. There’s no list of just like this, just like that. You can wear skinny jeans on these days, slacks on Sunday. That’s the God given command. It doesn’t exist. What we are told is that we need to dress modestly. Now I’m not going to get too much into this at this podcast.
I may make the next one on modesty because that’s a whole can of worms within itself, but modesty. Is a very vague term. What is modest in one area is extravagant in another area. And that makes things very difficult when we are. Discussing what modesty is and modesty is supposed to be
the, uh, the, uh, dismissal of, or withdrawal of something that is tempting to somebody else. So, you know, men don’t wear things that are going to make women think about. You know, draw forth their lustful desires and women’s more so to men, that’s a more common one. Women don’t dress in a way that’ll make your brother stumble.
That’s told all the time to women, never told to men. And I disagree on that part. Men can dress. to tempt women. We’re seeing this more and more as the rise of uh, internet consumption for women in a certain area and women are becoming more and more uh, engaging in this practice where men have been doing it for a long time and that’s showing women are just as prone to these things as men.
Um, it just may look a little different. They are still there. So, when it comes to modesty, it really just depends on your cultural moment and where you live. So, in America, what we look at is going to be very different than what a French person looks at in France, or even more so than in the Middle East.
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You know, there’s the whole joke about the ankle in the Middle East, you know, oh, she revealed her ankle. It’s the same thing as, you know, revealing your whole midriff. Or maybe some cleavage in the United States, like it’s very different. So modesty is not a blanket thing, but I’ll talk about more of that in the next episode, like I said.
So what we’re given are these general categories of how we should dress and It is really damaging to the Christian walk when people take a cultural concept like the southern standard of dress and apply that in a biblical way and they tell people you’re not dressed the way I think you should dress based off of where I live.
And since you don’t dress like that, you are less spiritual than me. You dress more provocative than I think you should dress. And since you dress like that, you clearly cannot be a strong Christian. So you need to dress, change how you dress so that your spirituality can increase. And that’s ridiculous.
Or we say, you know, you have too many piercings or you have piercings in the wrong places. You have a nose ring, you have a lip ring, you have an upper cartilage ring. And because you have rings in places that aren’t holy, and the only place that is approved by God is the earlobe, and since God does not approve of these other places, You are again not spiritual and this goes towards men and women, you know, I have one ear pierced and I can’t wear it in certain areas Because it’s not deemed the way men should have the way we should present ourselves.
I work at a Christian school It’s a good school, but I can’t wear it there because it’s not deemed appropriate In a Christian setting, women can wear pierced earrings or have their ears pierced, but, you know, a man can’t, even though historically men and women have had their ears pierced for almost the exact same amount of time, it has been a large display of the human condition for most cultures throughout most of history.
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We have always presented ourselves. Through piercings and clothes. That is how cultures develop. It’s developed in every culture. So the fact that suddenly, because of the modern American way of thinking that started, I believe, with the Puritans, and again, I’ll go into that more another time, because of our way of thinking, we’re like, well, that’s not holy anymore.
So you can’t do that. You’re a man. You shouldn’t have any piercings, and if you want to work here, if you want to attend to this church, You have to get rid of those or your spiritual walk cannot increase, and that’s ridiculous. And again, if you don’t like them culturally, that’s perfectly fine. I, we all have our cultural conditions.
We all live within the worlds that we live in. And if you don’t like it culturally, if you just don’t like the way it looks, that’s perfectly fine. We all have opinions. But, if you translate those opinions into concrete biblical stances, that is where the problem arises. That is where we have issues. These things are not biblical.
And we should not condemn people based off of our personal opinions of what should or should not be. This is damaging to new believers. It is causing people to stumble and leave the church because they see judgment and condemnation where it does not belong. And they get confused or run out. And they…
They equate that type of behavior to Christianity in general, and that is not the way it’s supposed to be. We are not supposed to be the heavy handed, uh, people of judgment. We’re supposed to be the people of love, not the people of acceptance. That’s a very different thing, but we’re supposed to love people, draw them in, and through our actions, cause change, not through our condemnation.
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“You know, one thing that really kind of irks me as I’ve gotten older and something I don’t think that really bothered me much when I was younger, maybe a teenager. I definitely don’t remember much of it bothering me in college, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to get really frustrated about people that are fully apathetic.
People that have Become so disinterested in anything in the world that they, it’s really kind of hard to explain. Like, you know, an apathetic person, you kind of know what I’m talking about. Um, they, like you try and talk to them and get to know them and saying that they are kind of just there. Kind of like how a brick.
is just there. They’re similar, but not quite the same. Like, of course, everyone has some types of interests. And so I’m not talking about interests like maybe casually playing a game or interested in a sport. But their interest doesn’t go much past, uh, surface level. So you ask them, well, what do you want to do with life?
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Nothin What are your real interests in life? Nothin Do you like watching TV? Eh. Do you like playing sports? Eh. And no matter which direction you try and turn to see, you know, what their passions are, what, you know, how they’re going to, you know, what they’re going to do with their life, any of those types of questions, especially when you’re talking to teenagers or young adults, and you get nothing.
Like, it’s this complete blank slate of nothingness. And then on top of that, you try and, you know, you know, try and push a little bit as a teacher and someone who volunteers at a youth group, you know, I try and probe a little bit, push a little bit, get the kids to think and grow, and they have this disinterest with the world that kind of goes beyond the normal, like everyone has things they’re not quite interested in, you know, my big one is I’m not very interested in watching sports, I’ll play sports, But if you kind of start talking about, you know, what game was on the other night, how one team is doing this year, I’m going to kind of lose interest.
I’ll do my best if that’s something you’re passionate about, but I’m going to lose interest. Now, if you talk about other things that I am interested in. Marvel, video games, Pokemon, stuff like that, you’ll get my interest. Those are things that I’ve always been interested in. But there’s this group of people, and I feel like it’s growing, I could be wrong, but it feels like young adults and older teenagers, kind of that 16 to probably 22 year old age, that range now, there seems to be a higher percentage of individuals in that age, especially men.
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Males who aren’t interested in anything and again, it goes beyond just this well I don’t really know what I want to do with my life and I’m not talented in anything. That’s that’s normal for that age I’m talking about something goes deeper this kind of this apathy that is pervasive in their entire being and they Just have no goals, no aspirations, they’re, they’re just a ship lost at sea with no port in sight and not even trying to go to a port.
And it’s, it’s really disheartening. And sometimes it makes me either angry or it makes me depressed because how much they’re missing out. How much of life. And of who they really are, they’re missing. And a lot of times, they have been either deceived by themselves, or deceived by the people around them.
And our culture nowadays, with social media, with movies, with all these things, has a really bad influence on these kids. More so than my generation and older. I didn’t grow up with social media, not till I was in high school. And the way these kids are seeing the world is so much different than how I saw it.
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I wasn’t in constant communication with my friends. I didn’t see everything they did. I didn’t see pictures posted on Snapchat or Instagram or Facebook or TikTok. I didn’t see everything they did. I didn’t communicate with them 24 7. There are so many teenagers that I see now, and they are always on the phone with somebody.
Like this inability to be alone has completely swept over this generation, and that constant barrage of images. Never allows them to one see the truth. It is so much easier to lie about who you are It’s easy to post pictures of yourself smiling when you’re depressed It’s so easy to post pictures of how you look and make yourself look, you know Stronger prettier or whatever then you actually are and so when other people look at those pictures They become jealous or they look at themselves and say I’ll never be able to look like that So why even try?
And this, again, never ending barrage of images, of soundbites, and of communication has produced a generation that feels nothing, that believes they can obtain nothing, and they believe the entire world is against them. And that’s something I’ve talked about before. And I think that has contributed in some form, either a lot or a little, to this feeling of apathy, where they don’t really care, and they don’t care that they don’t care.
And as Christians, and as a Christian… It really hurts, because when I look at them, and I know that they are made in God’s image, and not only did he make them, and all of us, he made us, he molded all of us. He molded us with his hands, like a master craftsman molds clay. He spent the time, the sweat, the energy, the thought, to produce in us…
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Exactly what he wanted. He made us be what we wanted. Now, it’s up to us if we use it. It’s up to us what we do with our lives. But God has created us to be something special. We are the image bearers of him. And to me, that is amazing. But so many people don’t, either they don’t know it, or they don’t fully comprehend it.
And I think that’s another thing that has led to this generation being apathetic. These young men, specifically, since this whole thing is about men, though it does apply to women as well, but my focus is on men. So these young men don’t know why they’re here. They feel like they’re useless, and our culture is…
Vehemently attacking men, and I’m not even talking about masculinity specifically, that is part of it. But it’s also just the idea of being male. Being male nowadays means you are an oppressive villain whose only thing that they can do nowadays is hurt other people. You know, they’re told being male hurts women.
They’re told being male hurts other males. They’re told being male has led to the oppression and destruction of every basic culture in the world. Throw in race, being a white male is… You know double the sin nowadays and so of course these young men are looking around the world saying you don’t care about me I am made for no purpose Nothing about me is unique or special so why am I going to try why am I going to care and it is heartbreaking and I think there are too few people who are taking the time and energy to actually listen to young people nowadays without Wanting to chastise them.
And I admit that it is really, really hard. When I talk to some of the youth that I know, some of the teenagers and young adults, and they just go on this kind of broken record of just foolish concepts that they’ve just, they’ve digested from the world around them, from their schools, from the media, from social media, from their parents, from their friends, that, It’s just kind of, it is hard not to yell at them and not to want to smack them, but you can’t.
You have to love them. You have to show them that this world is not what they think it is, that they have been lied to. They have been deceived by this corrupt society that serves itself. Our society does not want to serve God. It wants to serve itself. And I think that is kind of the whole thing that has created this apathetic, you know, don’t care, I’ll do what I want kind of mentality.
And again, it really gets to me sometimes. So that’ll be the conclusion of this episode. I don’t want to go too long on this tangent of apathy. You know, say that word five more times. Uh, so thanks for listening. I hope you enjoy, if you liked it, please leave a comment. Please leave a like, share, follow, do whatever you can or want to do on whatever platform you listen to.
God’s love for His creation is a timeless truth, yet it often sparks controversy. Despite our sins, God’s love remains steadfast (Romans 5:8). However, recent events, such as a notable Super Bowl commercial, have reignited debates on the nature of God’s love. The commercial, titled “God Gets Us,” features AI-generated images of religious individuals washing…
If I do not wash you, you have no part with me. Luke 17:33 Slowly, I lift my eyes to the heavens, shielding them from the blazing furnace before me. A tear falls down my cheek as I plead in my heart, “Oh God, why have you forsaken me? Alone I stand, destitute in the…
This might seem semantics to some, but I think that the difference is important. Human beings tend to gravitate toward the things that we like. Another way of putting it is that we become obsessed with the things that we pursue. When I buy a new video game I can became obsessed with playing and…
To conclude I want to ask a simple question, “Am I willing to sacrifice?” When God calls me to choose Him or something I love what will I choose? This is a question that I have asked myself a few times recently, and I come up with the same answer. I hope that I would choose God. I say that I would choose God. Actually, I can say that I have chosen God.
I have chosen God over money, over safety, over worldly pleasures. I do not want to come off as arrogant so let me explain something. I am not telling you that I have chosen God to get prays or any applause, but I want to highlight the struggle of choosing God. God promises us a life of joy and fulfillment, but He does not promise a life of health or wealth. My life has been full of an unworldly joy that I cannot understand. No matter how dark my life has been, and I have had some dark moments, I was always satisfied with God. I might have periods of depression, loneliness, poverty, and career insecurity but God has never abandoned me. I know this because I have always seen Him work in the end.
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When I was in college and I chose Him over my dormmates, He gave me some of the greatest friends I have ever had. When I gave up my desires of what type of spouse I wanted, He gave me the godliest woman I could have dreamed of. When I gave my career and financial stability up to Him, He has always taken care of me. My wife and I have never been late on a bill ever. We may not be rich, and we may not be climbing the corporate ladder, but God is providing for us in a miraculous way.
Here is the point, sacrificing the now is never something you will regret. It might hurt at the start and in the middle, but God will provide an abundance more. He may not ever make you rich, famous, or powerful but He will give you a deep joy and satisfaction that puts everything else to shame. I have never regrated sacrificing for God. He has always come through.
Just like Abraham and Isaac. Abraham must have had extreme emotions as he ascended the mountain with Isaac, but he chose God. Because of his willingness to sacrifice, he was given a feeling of peace and joy that conquered all of the fear and doubt. He was also given a nation and a legacy that will never end. Abraham is honored by millions because of his faith. He did not allow his fear to stop him from following God. So, are you willing to sacrifice for God? Are His promises enough for you? Is He your primary love or your secondary? I can’t answer these questions for you, and neither can anyone else. Only you can answer them.
(Excerpt from my upcoming book Warrior, Poet, Priest: Rediscovering Godly Masculinity)
I believe that masculinity is important because God created it. As a believer in Christ, this is all I need. But for argument’s sake, I will discuss a few more reasons. First, Genesis tells us that God created humans male and female. The fact that we were created as a duality should mean something. Look at it this way. In Eastern culture, there is the idea of yin and yang. Yin is feminine and yang is masculine.[1]
Two parts that make a whole. Combined, a perfect circle is created.[2] Similarly, God created us to represent two parts of Himself. God created men to exhibit certain traits and women others. This is called theomorphism.[3] Some aspects overlap, but many aspects of femininity are not found in masculinity and vice-versa. Masculine and feminine are equal in their manifestation of divinity. We are not divine ourselves, but God has imbued parts of Himself in us. Scripture uses the term “image” or “likeness” when describing how God made us. We see this in Genesis 1:26-27. I like how Grudem’s Systematic Theology puts it:
26 Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness… 27 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 NASB
“When God says, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness’ (Gen. 1:26), the meaning is that God plans to make a creature similar to himself. Both the Hebrew word for ‘image’… and the Hebrew word for ‘likeness’ … refer to something that is similar but not identical to the thing it represents or is an ‘image’ of. The word image can also be used of something that represents something else.”[4]
We are created as images of God, what a daunting and beautiful thing.
This is why when we try to remove one half from the whole, we have a broken society. We try to split or warp God’s intended purposes for masculinity and femininity. One reason why we do this is that we believe that one is better than the other. We either think that masculinity is better or that femininity is better. This is also wrong. Grudem later writes “If God thinks us to be equal in value, then that settles the question, for God’s evaluation is the true standard of personal value for all eternity.”[5] As I said before if God said it that is all I need. He is the standard, the author, the maker, and the master of the universe. If He said it should be one way over another, who am I to disagree? But like usual, we believe that we know best. We believe that our short stint on this planet has given us the wisdom to override God.
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Another point to remember is that God is genderless, though we do use masculine terms to describe Him. With this in mind, men and women exhibit attributes of Him in their unique way. The attributes that women possess we call feminine. Likewise, those that men have; we call masculine. This is why I believe that masculinity is important. When a society tries to remove the traits that only men have, that society is in essence destroying half of itself. It is also saying that those aspects of God are not worth having. Something half alive is not alive. And spitting on the divine is not a wise decision. We need to see what men are supposed to be like through God’s lens, not our own.
Another point for why gender differences are important is because God made men for specific tasks and women for specific tasks. These tasks are beautiful and cannot be done by the other. Our modern world has a weird idea that if an individual cannot do something that someone else can do they lose value. I think that this is ridiculous. Everyone has something that they cannot do that someone else can.
I am 6’4” and have been so since I was about sixteen. I have been able to reach top-shelf items since I was twelve or thirteen. Just because of my size I have been able to lift more than the average male my entire life. My natural ability does not decrease the value or the masculinity of those around me. I can reach high items, but I have the hardest time getting something out of the bottom drawer. God has given us all gifts, and we have to use those gifts.
Another example is the gift of music that God has given to my wife. Christina has an amazing voice and the ability to play multiple instruments. While dedication and hard work played a role, she has a natural gift as well. This is one that I do not have in the slightest. I can kind of sing, but I cannot play an instrument to save my life, and while I have always wanted to play something, I have never dedicated any amount of time to trying. My gifts are in speaking and writing (I hope). God has given us all gifts. Some are for women, some are for men, and some are for both. Trying to negate masculinity because it makes you feel excluded is childish. Trying to say that a woman can do everything a man can do is ridiculous, and vice versa. We need to learn to enjoy the gifts given to us and stop envying the ones given to someone else.
Let me know what you think! Anything you would change? Anything you loved? Any comments would be loved!
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[1] Matthews, Carolyn M. “Nurturing Your Divine Feminine.” Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, vol. 24, no. 3, July 2011, pp. 248–48, https://doi.org/10.1080/08998280.2011.11928725. Accessed 2 Mar. 2023.
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