The term "man" is often thrown around to any and all males who look old enough to be called a man. But what does being a "man" actually mean? Do all boys get that title automatically as they grow up? Does it even matter? These are just some of the questions that I've been recently asking myself as I am trying to navigate several new chapters in life. The hope for this series, is to talk and think about the issues we face, in todays world, while trying to become a REAL man. True Biblical manhood is being taught less and less while the resistance against it has always been growing; we are Men Under Fire.
Who am I to have any say on this topic? To be honest, I'm really nobody important. I've got no fancy titles attached to my name, no big degrees to back my words up, and even no prolonged life experience to bring to the table. In reality, I'm a young male, recent husband, and full-time employee trying to grow from a boy into a man. When society is seemingly working so hard to destroy family, morality, and truths it is important to know where you stand in this world. How is a generation, that was raised in a time where you can choose your own gender, receive participation trophies, and live in fear of offending everyone supposed to be strong leaders and firm protectors of their own families? If we don't stand for anything, we will fall for everything. This is not meant to be a fear provoking series that just gives up on society and creates a whole "going to hell in a hand-basket"atmosphere; quite the opposite. Instead I want to explore thoughts and conversations on topics of what being a real man actually is and how we can encourage that in the real world.
As life goes on, we all have a series of choices to make. What do you want to be when you grow up? When are you moving out? When are you trying to get married? Some of us are already living in the results of those choices that we made; some of them good, while some of them not so good. It seems that one day you wake up in your grand teenage years and bam, life starts coming at you non-stop with problems, choices, and consequences for those choices. At moments it seems that life is just one big school that we take lessons from and the lessons can be pretty painful and costly. Growing up, I was always taught that it is easier to learn from others mistakes than it was from your own. There have been plenty of times I wish I followed that advice more often. Every day is a new chance to grow, a chance to learn, and a chance to make a difference. So here's to learning and growing together.
-Z. West