There’s a lot of talk these days about “toxic masculinity.” It’s a term that describes masculinity gone wrong, an image of what men are not supposed to be.
Author Brant Hansen says that many men – especially many young men – don’t know what they are supposed to be.
The culture routinely deconstructs, but we rarely construct. Men need a vision for what is distinctly and inherently good about masculinity, and we find it in God, who creates men for a purpose. Every man has a role to fill. Whether you’re healthy or have a disability, wealthy or poor, a student, an accountant, or a mechanic, God is calling you to do something and to be something for Him.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam was given a task. He was to be a keeper and a protector. Genesis 3:6 says Eve ate the fruit then gave some to her husband “who was with her” and he ate. Adam abandoned his post, and the world has been suffering ever since.
When men show up, their families and their neighborhoods are safer, better places.
Brant says a big reason men in our culture are so aimless and stuck in meaninglessness is because they’re doing meaningless things, like seeking pleasure, comfort, and convenience instead of something greater or transcendent.
Brant Hansen is with me on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly to encourage men to be who God has called them to be and to love their families well each and every day. Brant describes six decisions that will set you apart as a man to be a blessing to your family and community:
1. Forsake the fake and relish the real.
2. Protect the vulnerable.
3. Be ambitious about the right things.
4. Make women and children feel safe, not threatened.
5. Choose today who you will become tomorrow.
6. Take responsibility for your own spiritual life.
To hear our full conversation about how important men are to their families and to society, listen on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, or take us with you on our free phone app.
Before I close, I’d like to invite you to become a special partner with us through our monthly “Friends of Focus on the Family” program. When you do, I’ll send you a copy of Brant’s book The Men We Need: God’s Purpose for the Manly Man, the Avid Indoorsman, or Any Man Willing to Show Up as a way of saying thank you for touching others with the love of Christ. You’ll also receive member-exclusive benefits. To make your pledge, or for more information, click here or call 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).
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