Christian author Rick Phillips writes, To be a man is to stand up and be counted when there is danger or other evil. God does not desire for men to stand by idly and allow harm, or permit wickedness to exert itself. This episode examines the masculine calling to be fierce protectors and warriors and identifies two reasons men often fail to fight the battles God has designed them to fight.
Genesis 2:15 reveals that God placed Adam in the garden not only for impact, i.e. to work it but, also, to keep it. Phillips drills down on the meaning of keep it. The basic meaning of keep is to “guard” or “protect.” This is captured by the Hebrew word, shamar, which is translated “watch,” “guard,” “protect,” “take under custody,” or “exercise care….” This calling to keep rounds out the Masculine Mandate of the Bible. A man is not only to wield the plow, but also to bear the sword. Being God’s deputy lord in the garden, Adam is to cultivate, build, and grow (both things and people), but also to stand guard so that people and things are kept safe (The Masculine Mandate).
God’s design of males to be protective warriors is also found in general revelation (what God reveals in creation). John Eldredge has thought a lot about boys. He writes,
Capes and swords, camouflage, bandannas, and six-shooters—these are the uniforms of boyhood. Little boys yearn to know they are powerful, they are dangerous, they are someone to be reckoned with. How many parents have tried in vain to prevent little Timmy from playing with guns? Give it up. If you do not supply a boy with weapons, he will make them with whatever materials are at hand. My boys chew their graham crackers into the shape of handguns at the breakfast table. Every stick or fallen branch is a spear, or better, a bazooka. Despite what many modern educators would say, this is not a psychological disturbance brought on by violent television or chemical imbalance. Aggression is part of the masculine design; we are hardwired for it (Wild at Heart).
Men are Created to Keep, i.e. to Protect Others in Three Ways
1. To Protect others PHYSICALLY: Because of common grace, nearly all men would take a bullet for their wife and kids. When Nehemiah found out that the surrounding enemies plotted to attack the Jews rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, he had them strap on their swords and then appealed to their masculine hardwiring: Remember the Lord,…and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes (Neh 4:14). We need to identify anything that can potentially harm those in our sphere of care.
2. To Protect others EMOTIONALLY: Our job as husbands and fathers is to protect our children and wives from destructive emotions that come into their hearts. This includes anxiety, loneliness, resentment, fear, depression, discouragement. Consider, for example, the fact that nearly every day, doubts about your wife’s self-worth attack the most tender, vulnerable part of your wife’s soul—her image of herself. Many wives default to feeling inadequate, dwelling on their imperfections, doubting their worth, or feeling quietly depressed because of feelings of inferiority. These oppressive thoughts do great harm to her soul because she is designed to need to be cherished. When you see a woman, who knows she is the delight of her husband, you usually see a woman who glows with feminine charm, beauty, grace, confidence, and love for others. You see a joyful woman who is flourishing in the use of her God-given, feminine gifts.
Would your wife say that you treasure her? Do you appreciate her unique gifts, value her opinions, delight in the beauty of her body and soul? Are you grateful for the way she loves and serves you? Do you see the hidden treasure that is her soul--to be discovered and enjoyed day by day? If you need help treasuring her more, you might take a few moments and think through what your life would be like if she were killed in a car accident this afternoon. How would your life change? What would you miss most about her? When you look into her (perhaps) aged face, remember that this is the creature who gave you her youthful beauty, along with the best years of her life. Called to be a suitable helper to YOU, her heart yearns to know that YOU think she is doing her job WELL.
3. To Protect others SPIRITUALLY. Most men would say that they would step in front of an oncoming care to protect their loved ones, and that they sometimes protect their wives and kids, emotionally. But they don’t even really understand spiritual warfare, much less have a plan to fight to protect their loved ones and their society from spiritual harm. Let’s think together about two major reasons men fail to fight, spiritually, as we should.
WE DO NOT PROPERLY UNDERSTAND THE GOSPEL
We correctly think the “good news” of the gospel is that by God’s grace WE are saved through faith in Christ’s atoning sacrifice and that OUR names are written in the book of life. But this is a very self-centered and incomplete understanding of the gospel. The true gospel is the gospel of the kingdom. It is the good news that although earth’s first king, Adam, rebelled against the High King, and by that treachery lost control of his kingdom to the tyrants, Satan, sin and death, the Second Adam has come to overthrow this kingdom of darkness and establish the kingdom of righteousness on planet earth. To follow King Jesus is to enlist in Jesus’ great cause—to follow him in the overthrow of the kingdom of darkness and establishment of his kingdom of light, which we accomplish only through his resurrection power. Our marching orders are clear: Seek first the kingdom of God and his reign of righteousness over planet earth. The gospel story is about kingdom change.
- Jesus launched his ministry not by saying, “Accept me into your heart,” but by saying, The time is fulfilled and the KINGDOM OF GOD is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel (Mk 1:15).
- The gospel writers tell their readers the good news is about the kingdom. And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel OF THE KINGDOM and healing every disease and every affliction among the people (Mt 4:23).
- Jesus, himself called his gospel, the gospel of the kingdom. He said to them, “I must preach the good news OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose” (Lk 4:43).
- Until Jesus returns his followers are to proclaim the good news of the kingdom: And this gospel OF THE KINGDOM will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Mt 24:14).
You cannot be content to summarize Christian discipleship simply as reading our Bible, being nice, and going to church, when you realize that the gospel is not just that I have a ticket to heaven when I die. The good news is that the long-awaited Second Adam has come to win back Adam’s lost kingdom and overthrow Satan, sin, and death. As John writes, The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn 3:8) We are empowered, right now, to join Jesus’ work of pressing back the kingdom of darkness so that the kingdom of righteousness—justice, truth, and love—rules in each sphere of life. Do our efforts bring in the kingdom? Of course not. The kingdom of righteousness will not fully reign until Christ returns in glory. But until then we are to show the world the first fruits of that kingdom.
Let’s consider what it means to seek the reign of Christ’s righteousness in a hot area today—racism. Christians are needed today to speak into the discussion of racism. At the core of seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness right now is opposing injustice. We who have grown up in the majority culture can’t begin to understand the harm to every black child’s or adult’s soul, whenever he or she hears the message, “You are an inferior human being to others because of the color of your skin.” Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, that destroying a person’s self-esteem is a violation of the sixth commandment, which prohibits murder. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council (Matt 5:22). Bible-believing Christians also believe in total depravity. So, we acknowledge that all sin, including racism, has permeated the structures of our society. We must take a stand against racism wherever we can. I avoid the term, systemic racism, because it is an emotionally and politically loaded term used often to justify the destruction of property and government institutions. But sin has permeated all aspects of our life. American institutions are not exempt.
Opposing injustice is part of the Christian calling to seek first the kingdom of God. But the pursuit of justice as a Christian can never be separated from the upholding of truth and moral law (which summarizes what true justice and love for our neighbor looks like). Christians bring to the discussion of racism a list of truths:
- Correcting injustice never justifies lawlessness. Paul and Jesus lived in a country occupied by Roman legions who commonly crucified their countrymen without any moral justification. It does not get more unjust than that! Yet, Paul wrote: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. (Rom 13:1-2).
- History records many totalitarian groups who appealed to the universal revulsion to injustice (because we are made in the image of God) in order to manipulate followers to commit horrendous crimes “to build a more just society.” Mao Tse-tung, lured masses into adopting the slogan, from each according to his ability, to each according to his need, including his Red Guard of mostly teenagers who slaughtered millions of farmers to collectivize farming (leading millions more to starve to death.) If you saw the 1985 film, The Killing Fields, you know that after Pol Pot overthrew the Cambodian government, to erase the inequalities of the previous order, he declared “Year Zero” and abolished money. Pol Pot’s young death squad, the Khmer Rouge, slaughtered 2 million people in the name of pursuing the utopian ideal of economic justice.
- Christians believe in common grace, the belief that God works throughout the culture to cause his world to flourish, not just through Christians. Therefore, we can often partner with non-Christians who pursue justice, mercy, feeding the poor, and standing for life. For example, there are many non-believers who are pro-life. Fair treatment of women is always a justice issue Christians should join.
- However, groups fighting injustice must be opposed when they advocate for sin. Women’s Rights groups that advocate for taking the life of a child even up to the seconds right after its birth, are spreading evil. Similarly, although the slogan, “black lives matter” grabs our hearts because we want racism to be overcome, TRUTH must reign. This organization is committed to evil, which it's advocacy of violence and destruction of property should make clear. But the extent of this commitment to evil is even more obvious in statements from the Black Lives Matter website (under, What We Believe).
--We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages.” I can't think of much that is more destructive to human beings than the destruction of the family.
--We foster a queer‐affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual. Gender confusion is reaking havoc on today's rising generation. In any way supporting it harms others.
As warriors, we cannot allow this organization to increase its influence, by saying nothing. But what do we say to our black friends? Here’s a suggestion. When Black Lives Matter comes up, saying, “Yeah, I really do believe black lives matter, and I support ending racism. But I can’t support this organization. I can’t support their violence, and did you know that they say right on their website that their intention is to disrupt the family. I think what black kids (and white kids) in the city need most is a dad.” I personally believe saying, "I believe ALL lives matter," trivializes the horror that African American's have suffered because of racism in our country; yet that suffering cannot cause us to ignore the destructive nature of BLM.
WE ARE OFTEN BLIND TO THE SPIRITUAL BATTLE
We don’t understand how much Satan and the fallen angels are involved in our everyday lives. The Christian’s spiritual enemy is not in uniform, and he doesn’t meet us on a visible, identifiable battlefield. His strategy is stealth. But, the historic reality is that the Messiah has arrived and has launched his overthrow of the powers of darkness to redeem Adam’s lost kingdom from its slavery to Satan, sin and death. Here are just a few texts that describe this conflict:
- Fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim 6:12).
- No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him (2 Tim 2:4).
- The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Cor 10:4-5).
Recognizing Satan’s Tactics
1. Satan’s main goal is to destroy the faith of Christians by getting us to doubt God’s goodness, love, forgiveness, protection, provision, and promises. When Satan choreographs difficult circumstances in our lives, it is not just to inflict pain; it is for the purpose of destroying our trust in God. (David Jeremiah, The Spiritual Answer Book)
2. Here are 5 verbs that describe the actions of Satan and his team:
- Accuse us of sin even when it has been confessed and forgiven
- Entice us by making sin seem attractive
- Erect strongholds, i.e. opinions in our minds, that are completely false
- Tempt us to sin through our exact weaknesses and the perfect timing of the temptation
- Deny the severity of sin’s cost, You will not surely die (Gen 3:4).
3. Satan is the great destroyer. He wants to destroy your life through adversity and blocking the work God wants to see manifested in your life. Satan does that by discouraging you, by dissipating your time and energy, and by making a frontal assault on your weak areas (Ibid).
Tragically, Satan is succeeding in his stealth strategy. Instead of being the warrior protetors they were designed to be, many Christian men are, essentially, blind to the spiritual forces harming their family, brothers and sisters in Christ, and nation. It is tough to fight an invisible enemy! That is why we need Jesus, THE SPIRITUAL WARRIOR to empower us to see and to fight the good fight.
For Further Prayerful Thought:
1. Is there someone you need to do a better job of protecting from a harmful emotion. What will your strategy be?
2. Ask God to help you identify Satan’s work in your life, then look back to Satan’s strategies. Which ones do you seem most vulnerable to?
