Where are the manly men?

A while back, I attended the funeral of a manly man.  The type of man who preferred blue jeans, cowboy hat, and boots.  He worked long hard hours to support his family.  I began to ponder the question,  where are the manly men at today? Where are the men that might be a little rough around the edges, but when he shakes your hand, you know you have shaken a man’s hand?  A mother once shared with me how now she not only prays that her daughter will find a husband that is filled with the Holy Ghost, but in addition will also hold a job and take responsibility.   In America, we have a real issue in our homes and our churches.   It is men are succumbing to the pressure of society to be passive and feminine, which is not what God called us to be.    

Religion has painted Jesus as a lovable squeezable teddy bear.   If we read our Bible carefully, we will receive a more balanced view of who Jesus was and is.    Jesus was and is filled with Love, but He had no quorums with spoiling a party.   He called the Pharisees a bunch of devils (John 8:44) and He went into the synagogue with a whip to run out the money changers (John 2:15).   Jesus was not charismatic nor a pushover.   Jesus stood for what was right even when He stood alone.   He was setting an example of a manly man to us men.    He became us so that we may become like Him.

Look at the sitcoms on TV.  I quote one author,  “Think about the so called sit-coms aired from 7 to 10 in the evening. Almost every one of them depicts fathers as dolts, dunderheads, blockheads, nincompoops, and clods who can’t fathom the simplest adolescent or teenage conundrum; who can’t come up with a calm rational solution if their La-Z-Boy lives depended on it” (Cooper, 2003, p. 23).  Is it an accident that TV being one of the greatest influences in society depicts dad’s as underachievers? I say it is intentional.  If you destroy godly manhood in a society, church or home then you have destroyed that entity.  

Someone once said that it is a miracle that boys make it to age 18, as many risks that they take.  Sometimes, I will see my boys do things that don’t make sense at all.   As a parent, we want to keep them safe and protected, which can actually hinder them.  I’m reminded of when I was a boy, I would jump off our shed with a handmade glider trying to fly.  God made boys and men that way.  It’s part of our DNA.   Unfortunately, the only adventure most boys are getting is spending hours playing video games. Boys need a little adventure and risk in their life.    It is part of becoming a manly man.  

As a father, nothing I desire more is to raise Noah and Luke to be godly manly men filled with the Holy Ghost.  If time would stand, they will be spiritual leaders in their homes. My desire is for them to have the backbone to stand for what is right and be the type of man that when you shake their hand, you know you have just shaken the hand of a true blue man.

Let men be men. Let women be feminish; let them be ladies.  Brother William Branham

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.  Joshua 1:9