Where are all the real men?
What has gone so wrong or twisted in our culture that men barely serve? Why is that just left to the women?
I have been on the race now for 7 months and in various forms of ministry for the last 8 years. It is astounding that everywhere I go men are always outnumbered. And it is not just by one or two. It is by 10s and 20s and more. For example, on the Race I am on a team of 50 and there are 13 men. This month and last month my team was paired with another team. A team of all girls. That means that me and Ethan (the other guy on my team) were 2 out of 14 people. For you number and stats people, that’s 14%. This month we are at less than 10%. If there is a 50/50 split between males and females in the world, and that is simple science, why is it that the numbers are so skewed when it comes to men serving and men being in the mission field?
Don’t believe me? Take a look at this picture, there is a room full of people (about 30 in total). How many men do you see? IF you can’t tell, there are only 3.
I don’t have any well researched facts, but what I do have is opinion and experience and lots of prayer.
So why are there so few men actually going and serving?
Part of me thinks it is because we have completely lost sight of what manhood actually is, especially being a man of God. I have seen man defined because of age, but in reality they are just old boys. I believe I can say this because I have been a part of that category and I was/have been in youth ministry and college ministry. Being a man is not how old you are. Just because your voice gets deeper or you have the ability to have a career and family does not make you a man.
Being a man is not about how much money you have in the bank or how often you go to church. It is definitely not about how good of a person you think you are. Being a man is not about the suit you wear or about how big your house is. Being a man is not fitting into some image that looks remotely like the “most interesting man in the world” or some guy with a beard and a flannel and jeans. So then, what is a man?
I will say, I don’t have the answers but this is what I believe; a man is someone who is not looking to get credit for the things that he does. A man is willing to sacrifice himself for others. This does not necessarily mean in a combat situation. He does all things with integrity and he does what he says he will. A man, more specifically a man of God, is someone that is willing to literally loose everything he has and who he is to follow Jesus. Is that not what the disciples did? They left their jobs, their careers, and their livelihood to follow Jesus. Look at King David, probably one of the best examples of what a man is. He was willing to become undignified before his people to praise the Lord. So why aren’t any of us (men) doing this more? Why are we so eager to settle for less? Why are we so afraid to be a father to the fatherless?
What do we have to be fearful of to serve?
If we claim to be men, men of God, then let’s act like it. To do so, pray and seek out what you are willing to give up for the Kingdom.
