Reflecting on Christian Masculinity

Real men don’t cry, but they know how to get in touch with their emotional side.  They are the kings of their castles, but always put others before themselves.  With this dichotomy, how is a Christian man supposed to know how to act and interact within our fallen world?  Do they become the superhuman savior of the “Die Hard” films or the bumbling idiots of rom-coms?  How does the Bible tell men to live?  Should we listen more to the Old or New Testament?  Which epistle is more right than the next?

The first person that the Bible refers to as a man of God is Moses, so let’s do a little character study of Moses.  Like so many, he started out his life as a baby, but somewhat differently, his biological mother put him into a basket and sent him down the river to escape the Egyptian massacre of young boys.  Along the river, Moses’ basket-boat was discovered by the princess of Egypt who decided to raise him as her own.

Fast-forward to Moses at a later age: he has been raised as an upstanding prince of Egypt.  This is the point in Moses’ life when he stops the beating of a Hebrew slave and kills an Egyptian slave driver, leading to his flight from Egypt. After he flees, Moses gets married to a Midian priest’s daughter and begins tending to the priest’s flocks.  While shepherding the flocks, Moses comes across a burning bush which tells him to free the Hebrew people from the rule of the pharaoh.

Then, we encounter the plagues, the escape of the Israelites and then 40 years in the desert. During this process, Moses is constantly forced to humble himself in the presence of God, while also leading God’s people towards the Promised Land. Moses, however, never reaches the Promised Land because he and his people fail to obey and trust in God.

Why would I pick a man who failed to reach his ultimate goal as a model for Biblical manhood?  Because every man will fail, but men must be like Moses, in that, he still kept leading his people until death.  He carried out his task from God until his death.  A man of God is not called to perfection, but he is called to strive for it until death.

Look at Moses’ beginnings for another example of biblical manhood.  He disagreed with the way that the Hebrew people were being treated, and because of this, forfeited his place as prince to do something about it.  All the money in the world  could not stop Moses from attempting to make the world a better place.  He had to eat what fell out of the sky and get drinks from a rock.

Another important thing to remember is that Moses is not the only man in the Bible.  There are numerous others, each distinct in their manhood and abilities.  Men of God are called to be accepting of everyone and to love everyone, even when they may have differing views and values. Every man is still God’s child, and must be respected as such.