Unveiling Broken Masculinity

All but the blind and ignorant know that masculinity is broken.  Today's men are lost, weak, broken, and hopelessly confused.  Masculinity is under attack by the world, and the devil.  We have lost our sense of valor and the concept of manly virtue.  We feel weak, helpless and without guidance.  Men know that they are supposed to be strong, bold, dangerous and confident, and when/since we don't, we hide.  We think that we are hiding our weakness, but we are really hiding ourselves-and this makes the problem infinitely worse. 

Remember in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve heard the voice of God, walking in the Garden?  "The Lord God called Adam, and said to him: Where art thou? And he said: I heard thy voice in paradise; and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." (Please just know where to find this in the Bible).

It is our natural reaction to hide (in view of our fallen human nature) when we feel exposed or ashamed.  But the reality is, we were never supposed to hide.  These clothes things that we wear, that wasn't really part of the original plan.  The nakedness of Adam and Eve was a sign of their union and intimacy, it was not something to be ashamed or afraid of.  But after the fall, when Adam and Eve's eyes were opened to the potential perversion and abuse of the sexual act, clothes became necessary.  But even clothes are not so much to hide our bodies as they are to veil a beautiful reality, to protect those who are not ready to look upon it.

It is the same way with us.  We are weak, we have faults, and we have goals that we constantly fail to achieve.  Sometimes, it is appropriate to veil this from the majority of people.  But there is a difference between veiling and hiding.  Notice, in the Genesis narrative, Adam and Eve hide from God, after they have already veiled themselves in fig leaves to cover their nakedness.  When they hide, it isn't to hide their nakedness as they would imply.  Their nakedness is veiled already.  But the veil is a proof that they realize their nakedness, and this is what they want to hide.  Their realization of their nakedness points to their sin, their now fallen nature.

But to receive healing, we must accept our fallen nature and embrace our need for redemption.  We can veil our fears from strangers, but we need men who we can share our human nature with.  We must discuss our struggles, our fears, sins, and desires.  Veiling from the public eye is appropriate.  But to hide the veil, and pretend that we have nothing to veil hides us from our close friends who can help us.  To isolate ourselves from our fellow men is hiding, not just our faults but our entire being.  We need to come out of hiding and share ourselves with other men, and grow with them.  "Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend" (Proverbs, 27:17).  Men belong with other men, not in isolation. 

It is easy to isolate yourself in times of trouble.  Whether it's temptation, insecurity, mood, or simply a lack of sleep, most of us tend to hide from our friends and family.  Introverts hide by saying little or nothing, or literally hiding, while extroverts hide by talking a lot, putting on a show.  Most of us do both at one time or another.  Alone time and silence are only bad when it is to hide out of fear.  Likewise, talking incessantly is only bad when it tries to hide reality. 

While some people literally isolate themselves to avoid contact, most of us have an emotional isolation, in which we keep our real emotions and fears a secret, often even from ourselves.  We are fine keeping our relationships at the surface, never digging deeper into the other person, or allowing them to really know us.

The man who tries to tackle life on his own is lost and fails before he even tries.  But the man who keeps a brother or more at his side is a deadly force to be reckoned with.

As men, we need to surround ourselves with other men who will strengthen us, and sharpen our metal to battle.  Masculinity is broken, yours, mine, and worldwide.  Masculinity is broken, and we must battle to bring it back together.  Men are supposed to be dangerous, fearful warriors, not spineless cowards, hiding in the shadows of despair and sin.  Go ahead, keep your fig leaf when appropriate, but come out of hiding and let the world see your fig leaf as a testament to the hope that one day you will need it no longer.