
Beans
471 posts
















The “Sin” of Masculinity A modest proposal for Christian virility Too many men in churches today here a message like this: “The Christian life is serene, modest, passive and receptive. Don’t do, just be. Give up your grand plans, stop relying on your own strength, let go and let God.” The rhetoric stops just short of calling masculinity itself a sin, but that's the implicit assumption. We need to do better. Manhood involves gaining mastery of the passionate fire in your soul: that core impulse hungry to initiate projects, take action, pursue goals, and face danger. You learn to choose concrete goals, measure progress, and reevaluate what works. The church warns of dangers. You can’t build the kingdom of God in our own strength or earn his love through good works. Many things lie outside your control, and the best laid plans often don’t pan out. You need to be open to God breaking in and surprising you. All that is true, but openness to God doesn’t make masculinity a presumptuous idolatry. He has given you a power that is truly yours to wield. He expects you to own it, and use it. Leaving it undeveloped, or just using it whimsically and unintentionally, is a failure of stewardship. Scripturally, the builder with poor materials is saved in the end. It’s the servant who sits idle on his master’s investment that is thrown out forever. Our master prefers any initiative, even risky initiative that loses the investment, to lazy neglect of what he entrusts. Taking an overcautious approach to masculinity, far from being humble or spiritual, is unfaithful to the God who made us in his image. The great men of the Bible were often impulsive or misguided. But they acted. They took risks. They put themselves out there. God named Israel after Jacob’s wrestling audacity. The Lord loved David’s cocky spirited heart. Jesus built a church with Peter’s impetuous determination. Christ chose the fanatical Paul to spread the gospel (with riots and trouble). He affirms the fire; he corrects the aim. The fire in a man’s heart comes from above. People in your life need your capable and inspiring leadership. There's work to do, projects to begin, battles to fight, a legacy to build, and a power within you to shepherd, cultivate, and wield, for God’s glory and our good.












Americans will pay $1.5 BILLION MORE at the gas pump just this week because of Donald Trump's war with Iran. California will continue using the tools we've spent years developing to help fight price spikes and lessen the blow from Trump's recklessness.


















