What men do
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” ‑ 1 Corinthians 13:11
Some people never grow up. Some never get that being an adult carries with it responsibilities that should not be shirked.
Some of the responsibilities are social, like being involved in and aware of the political process on a local and national level. Even if it only includes voting.
As a husband and parent, though, there are other imperatives.
The parental imperative puts a burden on a man unlike any other. His primary task is to provide for his offspring, and while most everyone takes it in stride, only a few know what it really means.
It means you have a hostage to your freedom. It means you are limited in your personal choices as to those options that do not affect your child adversely (i.e.:you do without the big truck so you can get your kid in a decent school) you are limited in your actions to those which are conducive to good parenting. Not tough stuff, really, just what all good parents do.
On the other end of that spectrum, though, are the hard decisions. Certainly nobody hopes to end up unemployed or unemployable, but at that point you steal if you have to to make sure your child has the necessities. Certainly, nobody wants to live under the threat of harm to theirselves, but if someone threatens harm to your family, you do what it takes to remove the threat. You make decisions that might be unpopular, you take actions that may be dangerous, you engage in activity that may endanger your immortal soul, if you must. That’s what men do.
It’s funny, but I was thinking of that exact verse earlier today… or rather late last night (havent been to bed yet).
When I became a man, I put away childish things.
What saddens me, is that so many so called men out there, are just boys in bigger bodies. Not only have many of fogotten how to be men, we’ve forgotten it is even a good thing to be one.
And these overgrown boys are teaching their sons to be the same.
And the schools, are attacking boys, and men, at every turn. Punishing male behavior and rewarding female behavoir, indoctrinating our boys against manliness.
And the media is attacking boys, and men at every turn.
I am saddened, and I am frightened. It has only taken us two generations to reach this point, and in two more, will men be gone entirely, levaing only women with differenty naughty bits?
God I hope not, and I will do anything in my power to prevent it, but I do fear it.
In my opinion, the one most important thing that separates the men from the boys is the attitude toward taking care of the children he has sired. A real man does whatever it takes to support his children, period. When I hear guys bragging about having four children with three or four different women and not doing one thing to help support those kids, I want to puke.
How about taking responsibility in general. For yourself, for your life, for your family, for your failures.
It’s been unfashinable to take responsibility for quite some time now. Since, oh, around the Johnson administration.
I could only add that the right thing to do is almost never the easy thing to do. When faced with a choice, the real man does the hard, right thing anyway.