Why God created boys: True masculinity requires humility
“God made guys for a reason we don’t know, but I know they’re good for something,” says Allison, 12.
Good for something? I hope so.
“Men lay around the house, but sometimes they do stuff, too,” says Shelby, 8. “Sometimes they’re helpful.”
Gee, thanks a lot, Shelby. Have you been talking to Allison?
“God created men so they could build homes and smell like rotten eggs,” says Brianme, 11. Have you discussed this with your dad, or do you always give him cologne for his birthday?
Well, maybe there’s a reason for the smell, suggests Lauren, 11: “I think that God created boys because he wanted them to do all the dirty work while the girls get to stay at home and do what they please. He made boys tougher than girls.”
You might get an argument from Allison and Shelby about boys being tougher than girls, but not from Andrew, 10: “God created boys to grow up and become men. They are head of the house. The main purpose is to make sure everything is all right at all times and to protect the household.”
Andrew, beware of Barbara, 11, when you begin to look for a wife. She says, “I think God created boys so a girl could have a daddy, a brother and a husband, but who wants one!”
Andrew, you stand a much better chance with Beth, 9: “God created boys because girls need them to help make babies. Even though boys are rowdy, we’ve got to have them.”
Another Shelby, 9, says: “Adam gave one of his ribs to create girls. He was the first human who ever played with lions and tigers without getting a scratch! Jesus was the most important boy and performed miracles.”
Well, Adam didn’t exactly give his rib. God put him to sleep and performed surgery. Man has never recovered from the surgery, says author John Eldredge.
Eldredge conducts a seminar for men called “Wild At Heart,” which is also the title of his best-selling book. He asserts that most of our images of God or Jesus are passive. In most pictures, Jesus looks like Mr. Rogers with a beard. We interpret the biblical statement “God is love” to mean God is “nice.”
Eldredge challenges other misconceptions about God’s love when he says: “God’s love is a love that leaps on you from the dark and wrestles with you through the night as in the case of Jacob. God is not safe, but he’s good.
“A stallion is wild at heart. Geldings are safe, but they don’t give life. We have taken away man’s masculine heart, and then we tell him to be productive.”
Teddy, 10, gets to the heart of God’s love when he says: “God made boys because he is a boy. Another possible reason is he wanted his son to die on the cross.”
Deep in his heart, every man wants to be a hero. A true hero offers his strength to rescue those in need. Jesus did just that when he fought and won the battle over Satan, sin and death.
True masculinity requires humility. Jesus humbled himself by submitting to a humiliating death. We humble ourselves when we believe in the Lord Jesus for salvation. We depend on him instead of our own efforts.
The strength of man is of no avail in becoming a Christian. Human power is of no use in trying to live the Christian life. Both require trading imagined strength for God’s grace and power. Only God can make a man a true hero.
