It’s “Very Good” To Be A Man
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MEN, THIS IS WHY THEY HATE YOU
As society stumbles ever closer toward the cliffs of insanity, speaking the truth has become all the more offensive. But, on the other hand, if you suppress common sense and genetics, dutifully bow the knee like a good boy, and virtue signals the rankest perversions, then you will be perceived as a reasonable man. All you have to do is toe the party line, walk in lockstep with the kind of people who think twelve-year-old boys should be chemically castrated and that men can expose themselves to young girls in lockerrooms, embracing the queerification of America, and then maybe you will go places.
But, if you think Dylan Mulvaney is a groomer, homosexuality and transgenderism are abominations (Biblically defined), that Bud Light wasn't a real beer in the first place, and that Target should stop selling girls bathing suits with penis pockets, well, then you are a bigot of the highest order. Similarly, if you think education should not be secular indoctrination, that children's programming should not have lesbian kisses included within it, that pronouns are based upon God's design of biological sex, and that it should be illegal for drag queens to twerk in front of children in libraries, then you are precisely the kind of rational man, steeped in objective reality, that the rainbow railroad is reeling to run over. They hate you because you love truth and reason, plain and simple.
If that is you, then I want to encourage you with this blog. And I want to equip you for the battle of our lifetimes. Men were made to fight. Not with activism or finger-pointing vitriol that combats hatred with more hatred. No. But also not with a spineless winsomeness popular in the evangelical world that pretends to care about everything but takes a stand for nothing. No, no, no. I want to equip you to fight. Not by wasting your time calling out all of the lies, which at this point are legion. Not in getting angry and going to war with every ideology we, as Christian men, are rightly opposed to.
Today, however, I want to equip you to begin fighting for what you are FOR instead of fighting what you are AGAINST. We should remember that the only way to spot the counterfeit is by knowing exactly what the authentic actually is. With that in mind, I want us to understand Biblical manhood and unapologetically celebrate it. I want us to hold our heads high that God made us men and that being a man is very good!
In the weeks ahead, we will look at how Biblical womanhood is "very good," how Biblical sexuality alone is "very good," and how covenant marriage brings all of these "very goods" together into one home. But today, we will be focused on the men. And to do that, we will go back into the pages of Genesis, where we left off last week, speaking about God's good design of masculinity.
The text says:
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth…" 31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. - Genesis 1:26-28, 31
GOD'S DESIGN IS VERY GOOD
Before we dive into the specifics, let us recognize the point. When God surveyed all He had made, especially the male-female marriage that He blessed, He called it all very good. He did not call it kind of good. He did not say that it could use some improvements. Instead, he called it excellent, superlative, and unimprovable.
By describing His designs in this way, God is admitting that His opinions of what manhood, womanhood, sexuality, and marriage are the only ones that please Him and the only ones that matter. He is unapologetically announcing that His design is the only one that perfectly fits His sovereign vision for how things ought to go and that no other concepts or definitions are needed or warranted. He did not ask for our opinion, and He did not solicit us for improvements or modifications. Should a man, woman, or government have the audacity to redefine these designs or tweak what God almighty is pleased with, even in the slightest ways, they are opening themselves up to the fiercest wrath, if not now, in eternal torment in hell.
Imperfect and inglorious designs could not bring pleasure to a perfect and glorious God. Therefore, the original design of manhood, womanhood, and covenant marriage is the only design that brings God pleasure and is the only design we should celebrate. Now, with that foundation, let's look at the "very goodness" of Biblical masculinity.
IT'S "VERY GOOD" TO BE A MAN
Let me scream from the rooftops that it is good to be a man! Very good, in fact! As made by God and constrained by Holy Scripture, masculinity is not toxic! Men are not Neanderthalic morons simply because we have a Y chromosome, and we are certainly not just passive sperm donors to ensure the survival of the human race.
Men are well-designed patriarchs that bring their Father great pleasure and joy when they live out their masculinity for His glory (1 Corinthians 10:31). By working up a manly sweat (Genesis 3:19), providing resources for a family and by taking responsibility for his actions (1 Timothy 5:8), by ruling, subduing, and extending God's dominion (Genesis 1:28) by protecting a community against incoming threats (1 Corinthians 16:13), by growing in strength of body and of mind (Proverbs 24:5); by having courage in the face of adversity (Joshua 1:9), by having integrity when no one is looking (Titus 2:7), by providing godly leadership for a wife (Ephesians 5:23) righteous leadership in the home (Ephesians 6:4; 1 Timothy 3:4-5; Joshua 24:15), and Godly leadership in the community (Psalm 1:1-2), by being faithful to the commands of God (Psalm 119:1-2; John 14:15), by demonstrating a manly desire to learn and gain understanding (Proverbs 1:5), by having discernment, self-control, compassion, and sacrificial love for his people, that man is bringing glory to a well-pleased God.
Men, do not accept a perverted vision of masculinity that a godless world has painted for you. Also, do not accept the effeminate and neutered manhood that some wimpy sects of Christianity are peddling to you. Instead, stand up tall and be a man. Take responsibility for yourself and your people. Love your wife like Christ loves His Church, stand for truth, be brave, rule well in your home and in your town, and bring the fear of God into every sector that you preside over. And above all else, do everything you can, with all the strength and vigor you can muster, to the glory of your God and the advancement of His Kingdom.
That is a vision worth celebrating and imitating. And that is the kind of men our nation, churches, and families desperately need.
Remember, men, masculinity is defined by God in Scripture. When that is the kind of man you are learning to become, or striving to become, then you have aligned yourself with God's "very good" vision. Care nothing for what the haters and critics say. Do not apologize for your masculinity, do not be ashamed of it, and do not run from it. Instead, embrace your manly call in Christ and live it out with strength and conviction to the glory of God.
Amen.
Special thanks to my friend Michael Foster who has been writing on this subject for years and has encouraged much of my thinking. You can check out his wonderful book It’s Good to be a Man, and his new documentary on Canon + for more on this topic.
