Man Up - Part 1

This week, Michael writes that some "politically correct" secularists consider the phrase "Man Up" a call to toxic masculinity. In humanistic psychology, toxic masculinity refers to biblical and/or traditional cultural masculine norms that are now deemed harmful to men, women, and society overall; this concept of toxic masculinity is not intended to demonize men or male attributes, but rather to emphasize the harmful effects of conformity to certain traditional masculine ideal behaviors such as manliness, dominance, self-reliance, and competition in this age of tolerance and gender identity confusion. The term “Man Up” means to make an effort to deal with something (such as an obligation or a challenge) in a way that is considered strong or manly. To "be a man about it"; to do the things a man is traditionally expected to do, such as taking responsibility for the consequences of one's actions, displaying bravery or toughness in the face of adversity, providing for one's family, etc. Extreme Feminists would say that the term "toxic masculinity" is redundant. Yet, God created man as man and woman as woman, each with a role by design. Therefore, to “Woman Up” is applicable too.

Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

The bible says that the world calls good evil and evil good. As followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for Christ's sake, for great are your rewards in heaven. To experience true fellowship with our Lord, we must enter into the fellowship of His suffering. Our first response must be to give all to God ... casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you. We can either depend on our own pride and our own sufficiency or we can come to the realization that God alone is our sufficiency in all things. "Hands up, I surrender" is not what the world teaches. However, when we surrender to the Lord, we will understand that "thy strength is made perfect in my weakness, thy grace is sufficient for me."

What was history's greatest moment of surrender? The greatest moment of surrender was when Jesus prayed to his Heavenly Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, "let this cup (of wrath from sin and death) pass from me, nevertheless, not my will but thine be done." When Jesus surrendered to His Father's will at the cross, He became the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him.

To “Man Up” is for both men and women to press toward the mark of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.  According to Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended (already attained): but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high (upward) calling of God in Christ Jesus.” To “Man Up” also means to set our affection on things above and not on the things of the world. Jesus said, "Don't treasure treasures upon earth where moth and rust corrupts and thieves break through and steal.  Instead treasure treasures in heaven.  For where your treasure is there will your heart be also."

Let's continue Michael's message on "manning up" in the next post.

In Christ, Brian