Back down?
October 25th, 2005A real man knows when to back down. A real man also knows when that’s not a viable option. Having been in both places, I can say they must both come from a spiritually informed place.
Kenny Rogers perverted the concept by summing it up as “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em. Know when to walk away and know when to run.”
Study the gospels and let me know how many times that you find Jesus:
- Holding
- Folding
- Walking away
- Running
I think I could find places where he did all of them.
This is not a gambling post and please kill me if I ever find theology in a Kenny Rogers song. That’s not what I’m doing here.
I’m just saying that there are many times when a man must stand and fight, even if he’s risking everything including his life. There are other times where a man’s being threatened and he must realize that the fight is pointless because either way he loses.
Maybe I’m just rambling. I think my original point is that the concept of masculinity has been perverted by country music and its culture as well as by rap music and its culture. They’re both responding to a world that preaches “violence doesn’t solve anything.”
I don’t believe that because it’s silly on its face. Often, in an immediate sense, violence solves everything. But I believe violence is rarely necessary and can only carefully be justified.
That’s one of the marks of masculinity: One that seeks to avoid violence, but is also prepared to handle it without fear.
Well said.
That’s one of the marks of masculinity: One that seeks to avoid violence, but is also prepared to handle it without fear.
Amen.
I think this guy exemplifies what you just wrote about. We need more men like that and Israel does, too. What is so sad, is that men like you describe are persecuted for it. I see Father developing my husband into this kind of man. The key is trust in YHWH and, therefore, no fear. King David was a man like that and is probably why YHWH said he was a man after His own heart.
Love and shalom,
Serena
Too many tuck tail and run when what they need to do is stand up and speak up. Too often evil wins because good men didn’t speak their mind. Doesn’t mean you have to come out swinging, just letting the truth be heard is often enough to win.
DC,
Good post…and it works on many levels, not just the violence/no violence level.
Guys play all manner of mind games, be they verbal, non-verbal, even physical at times (still without resorting to violence as defined by this post). Childish? Most certainly. And yet they occur everywhere…at work, the gym, the grocery store just to name a few. And sometimes…you just have to respond to the game.
Of course, first you must recognize it. My wife doesn’t understand it…in fact, when I tell her later what was going on, she thinks I’m nuts. I tell her, “sweetie, you just don’t understand how guys operate.”
I’m not going any further with this…you do understand what I’m getting at, right? It’s definitely a good conversation over a beer or cup of coffee.