Our new series, Defining Masculinity, kicks it into high gear today. Today we continue the conversation with a new friend. Mr. Kahlil Suaray is our oldest son’s third grade teacher. Courage takes the center place in our conversation about masculinity and manhood. Last week’s episode, listen here, set friendship as an important component of a more authentic and comprehensive definition of manhood. On this episode Courage is the integral and essential virtue that we focus on. It is my belief that all other conversations in this series will be defined by how we integrate courage into our daily lives. For this episode courage is understood in the context vulnerability.
I believe there is a deeply held belief about what it means to be a man. This belief has done unfathomable damage to a generation of men. This mindset influences our beliefs and in many ways has defined manhood. This belief is that vulnerability is a feminine attribute and that showing emotions is weakness. This limited idea of masculinity and what it means to be a man are at the heart of why I am doing this series. This mindset limits men from reaching their full potential and performing in all areas at optimal levels. Today’s episode highlights how dangerous this message is to our young boys and young men. It is a definition of manhood that is rooted in a misunderstanding of gender roles and an errant reading of history and especially theology. For the Christian man it completely undermines the life of Jesus and his comprehensive modeling of what a man looks like. Mr. Suaray and I have an insightful and heartfelt conversation about therapy, bullying, suicide and so much more. We talk about how culture tries to define us in very narrow ways and how this leads to many of the issues that men face today. We also talk A LOT about hope and especially COURAGE. It takes courage to recreate and redefine oneself when society and culture are trying extremely hard to define us in very limiting ways.
References:
Battle Cry: Waging and Winning the War Within by Jason Wilson
Email us at: scott@projectrootsandwings.com