Of course I want to be manly. Sorry, masculine. I want people to view me as masculine. I am a man, afterall. What guy doesn’t want to be thought of as masculine? But what does this mean? What does it mean to be genuinely masculine? This is the object of heated debate both in and outside of the Christian world.
Christians talk about it in terms of “Biblical masculinity”. Well known theologians, authors and speakers have all taken a turn at defining it. Great points are made on all sides. To be honest, I’m still a little confused. How would Jesus address this issue? That is my question. And if Jesus didn’t address this issue directly, what does that tell us?
I have three sons. I want all three to grow up and be the most Biblically masculine men that they can possibly be. But what does this mean? How do I encourage this? And, more importantly, if I had three daughters, how would I parent them differently? Is there overlap? I mean, in order to properly steer my kids toward Biblical masculinity, I have to know what Biblical femininity looks like as well, right?
The problem for me is this: Every time I try to make a list of masculine traits (both spiritual and otherwise) that I want my boys to embody I find myself thinking that I would want these same traits for daughters. Hard working, courageous, loyal, responsible, leaders, risk takers, humble, desiring to seek God’s glory…. All of these things that I want my boys to be, I would want the same for daughters. So what is Biblically masculine that is not at the very same time, Biblically feminine? To suggest there are only degrees of masculinity and that all things feminine are simply less masculine is the same as saying that all women are naturally inferior to men. Surely that is not what we mean.
How would Jesus answer this question? I suspect that Jesus was quite an amazing man. If there is such a thing as Biblical masculinity then Jesus was and is it. So I think He would invite us to follow Him and live life in the very same manner that He lived it. But would He tell a woman something different? I don’t think so.
Personally, I think we are asking the wrong question when we ask what Biblical masculinity looks like. The question that both men and woman should be asking is this: What doe sit look like to follow Jesus? Everything else seems to be hopelessly entrenched in cultural constructs.
Anyway… the thing that sparked my thinking about this issue was a recent article I read. It is an amazing read on this very subject. I highly recommend reading it: The rhetoric of masculine Christianity
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