FW Ep 62 These Times
In normal times, this book would be necessary and important. Good fathers are always needed, whether times are good or evil. In our current time, this book is revolutionary. The forces of government, big business, mainstream culture, and popular opinion are aligned against the Biblical principles that I have outlined in part one of this book. By taking up the mantle of fatherhood in these times, you are taking on an army of opposition, putting your body between them and your kids. It’s no small task, but it is crucial. Only you can do it.
We live in a time of weak men. As I write, my word choice offends even my sensibility. I don’t want to be thought of as weak. Being labeled such stabs at the core of my self-image and identity, but it must be said. Men in our time have grown weak in principles, passive in their decision-making, afraid of work and risk, greedy to control others, and ruled by their lusts. They have traded maturity, healthy masculinity, and character for various dopamine addictions. They have abdicated their responsibilities and, as a result, have remained children in adult bodies. Men wander through life, lacking purpose and focus. They languish in mediocrity because they serve themselves and find that unsatisfying. Men today have no cause to give their life for, no higher calling to channel all that masculine energy into. As a direct result, our families are suffering from severe degradation. The sickness within families ripples out to the neighborhoods and cities where we live. Social rot weakens every aspect of society. As the family goes, so goes the culture and the nation. We have done this. The blame rests squarely on our shoulders.
Many years ago, I was teaching a group of sixth-grade boys with special needs. In the health lesson, we were learning about puberty and growing up. I tried to communicate that growing into a man was important, special, and unique. “There is just something special and important about being a man,” I said, wanting them to get the idea that growing up was an exciting thing. One of the teacher aides interrupted me with a rude comment. “Don’t get them started with that. The last thing we need is more male chauvinists!”
I was taken aback that she thought I was encouraging the boys to grow up and become jerks. I listed several good, masculine traits that I was referring to and the lady crossed her arms and dismissed me. It seemed that m-a-n spelled a bad word and I had accidentally said it aloud in the classroom. I have never been able to forget her response. It angers me, even a decade later. Not that she felt so negatively about men, but that the men in her life had so failed to live up to the standards of true masculinity that she considered man and chauvinist to be synonymous.
This negative opinion of men is not an isolated example. It is a tragedy. We must change this. When men act badly real people are hurt, bearing those emotional scars for life. Men should not be a source of injury. We should be a source of strength to our families. Immature, bad-tempered, and selfish men can become a terror in the household. Nothing that I have advocated for will be possible if the man does not first take stock of his past behavior and cease his destructive habits. Pause here and take an inventory of yourself. Though it might be painful to do so, look your past in the face and confront it.
Write down a list of the behaviors that you must arrest to protect your family from yourself. I’m serious! The uncontrolled man is a great danger to his family, a snarling wolf inside the cave.
