The fact is that like so like so many others, I am not that good at sport, nor am I brawny. My center of gravity is more in my heart and mind. I am a thinker and, like David, very reflective – a writer of poetry and books. I have also paid many prices for standing my ground on issues of consequence. Many other men who would pass the brawn and sweat test, still fail where it most counts – in their responsibilities to life and family.
Esau was a red, hairy, hard, masculine hunter-brother who regarded his thinker-reflector brother as a nerd. Jacob spent time at the feet of spiritual examples like his grandfather and mother, but Esau relied on his father’s misplaced approval. God loved Jacob and rejected Esau – because he respected his birthright, valued his past and was willing to fight for a noble cause. Rebekah, his mom, was cut from the same cloth and ultimately paid a great price for ensuring that the blessing was entrusted to the more dependable son.
It is intriguing to me that the “manly” characters of the bible were often disastrous leaders. They were impulsive, egotistic, self-centered, proud and unwise. King Saul epitomized the issue, for despite being physically impressive, he was corrupt and ineffectual. I contrast the same men with the great men of the bible, who were generally all shepherds, writers, psalmists and thinkers, men that took time to listen to God and wait on Him for their life direction instead of running off impulsively in their own follies.
A brave man must never be confused with a fearless man. The ludicrous image of he-men attacking a small force with overwhelming and heavily armed numbers may typify Hollywood action movies, but it hardly presents a role model of manhood. The real men who hold a nation together are the unspoken heroes who nurture their children, love their wives and fight for righteous causes. They may be unarmed and often in the minority, but their words and actions have repeatedly shaped the course of society and history. They also had to battle inner fears and misgivings, conquering their own doubts more heroically than those blinded to fearlessness by their tax paid armor and technology.
Some of the less manly men who shaped the world in spite of their own inner struggles, include Churchill (sickly and depressive), Roosevelt (no legs), Lincoln (rejected many times), Gandhi (a pacifist who silently resisted an empire), Einstein (a likeable eccentric), David (a shepherd king), Moses (a prince reduced to shepherding) and Paul (a scholar who returned from his own wilderness to found the early church). I could go on, but you have enough to make your own choice about what defines a man.
(c) Peter Eleazar @ www.4u2live.net
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