There’s a time for the joys of childhood – a time to be appropriately self-focused as we look to others to do the heavy lifting in our life and relationships. And then there’s a time to man up and accept our responsibility to bring more life and goodness into the world.
There’s little responsibility placed on our shoulders as boys. In fact, others rightly have the burden to provide, protect, and guide us.
The season of boyhood teaches us life is not dependent on us and there are many blessings we get to receive without striving or earning. In its goodness, this season instills the truth of our inherent worth.
But what’s good in one season can hold us back in the next. And our maturity calls for us to grow beyond merely receiving goodness to also offering goodness.
This is mature masculinity – to offer time and again the essence of our strength, presence, and very life for the good of our communities.
And while the particulars will differ based on our various giftings, we each have a part to play.
When we defer this responsibility to others we’re living in the immaturity of boyhood.
Some of us have lived as Peter Pan and have never taken the time to intentionally grow up, while others of us have essentially been castrated and robbed of our inner vitality.
In either case, we’re not living as the men God has called us to be.
To man up is to put off the immaturity of boyhood and embrace the burdens of mature masculinity – our responsibility to be a source of light and goodness for others.
We allow much suffering to come into our life and relationships when we live as boys and don’t own the roles God has called us to as men.
It’s time to man up!
Photo by Kelly Sikkemaon Unsplash
