I came across a podcast this week which made quite an impression on me. It talked about the difference between being a man and being a boy, and shows how in men not taking their proper role in life, whether in business or in the home, they have lost their right role in being a man, and have become merely a boy again!
It talked about how in the Bible times, the men sat in the gate as protectors and law givers, not as those who laid down the law, but as those who upheld the law. A real woman back then was not a downtrodden second rate person, but one who upheld her man, and respected what he said, teaching her children to do the same. She was busy from morning to night, always doing something constructive. Her husband could trust her implicitly to always do the right thing, and he didn’t have to worry about anything that was going on in the home. (Proverbs 31:23-30)
His neighbours and townspeople that he knew, all knew that he was an upright person. He also taught his boys to treat their mother and sisters kindly, and to respect them. This teaching started when they were little boys, and they knew that even when they were playing boisterous games, not to go too far and hurt their sisters in doing it.
When this principle is forgotten and put to one side in the interest of “equality”, the men lose their authority and become just one of the boys again. They forget to come home on time, but prefer the company of their “mates” thus creating a vicious circle. The wife puts the uneaten meal to one side, and the children go to bed without seeing their father…father has become a “boy” with no responsibilities!
Manhood is not about oppression. It is virtue. Duty, service. That’s what our whole life is supposed to be. At the heart of manhood and at the heart of woman hood is love. Love is patient and kind and selfless. It’s not irritable. It’s not selfish. It doesn’t insist on doing things “my way”. It rejects darkness. It rejoices in faith, and hope.
That’s manhood. At its finest.
This principle needs to be spread far and wide, and maybe we’ll get the men back, but we must remember too, that it is a two way thing. The women need to uphold their men, and support them in all their finest aspirations. The podcast finished up by saying….. “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And weak men create hard times….a vicious circle!
We are in the — in the era of hard times. Because weak, pathetic men have allowed themselves to be stomped into oblivion with lies. Women need men like fish need a bicycle. Really? Really? Men can get pregnant! These are all lies. Men need women. Any good husband knows — no. Let me rephrase that. Any good husband will do anything for his wife.
But that actually does come from a place of love, and good women are the same. They may not understand, but they just want their husband to be happy. Hard times are here, because we have had weak men. But hard times create strong men. That means, a new era of good men are just over the horizon.
It’s our job to raise them. It’s our job to encourage them. It’s our job to be what we should be, ourselves.”