Courage In The Line of Fire
Senator Josh Hawley recently received the metaphorical “papal bull of excommunication” both from the left and the mainstream media. What was it that was so transgressive about Senator Hawley? How did this brilliant young Senator manage to attract so much controversy? He simply expected men to be masculine taking responsibility for themselves, their families, those around them, and their country. Praise God, he even had the straightforward tenacity to accuse the left of being the ones who are promoting many of the underlying issues we see in men today. In a recent article, he wrote the following:
“Liberals and reporters get awfully sensitive when you criticize pornography and video games. They get even more sensitive when you blame modern liberalism for men’s addiction to them. If these pastimes are so popular, so healthy, so pro-social, why wouldn’t those on the left embrace them?”1
It is pretty clear that Senator Hawley sees straight through the secular Leftist worldview plaguing our society today. He sees the issues this belief system has created and also understands those promoting it are often unwilling to embrace the perverted counsel they give to the masses. That lack of desire to heed their own ideas is simply because they understand the slavery of their own advice. Don’t be fooled, they do not desire the best for the people, but a citizenry ripe for greater governmental power and less individual responsibility. Senator Hawley continues in his piece and later says:
“But many men have more to offer than test scores can measure, and America needs those virtues: courage, strength, risk-taking, and commitment. These are the virtues that sustain an entrepreneurial and independent republic. But for decades, the left has been engaged in a social project even more destructive than its economic one. It has pathologized these virtues to suppress the independence they foster. Liberals long ago recognized that independence was a bulwark against tyranny. So they chipped away at it, year after year, by attacking manhood itself. The era of COVID — of attempted government command and control of churches, schools, and more — will be a harbinger of the future if we do not recover that spirit of independence. And that means confronting the left’s most destructive campaign — its effort to destroy gender itself — head-on.”
Again, this analysis is spot-on. The left has unmistakably taken up a war on gender, in fact, it would be accurate to say they have simply undertaken a war on reality. It is not just the fact they have misconceptions around the roles of men and women, it is that they do not even believe in the basic biological reality of male and female. Now, at this point, we have to begin to ask ourselves, what is the solution to this particular issue? How do we fix all of the issues surrounding men today and stop the leftist war on gender? Ultimately, it is a war of worldviews, that is what Senator Hawley understands, and that is what we must understand if we are going to win this battle!
The Rage Against Gender Evidences Deeper Issues
Truthfully, what we see evident by the left is that their war on gender is only a symptom of a deeper problem. Because they have rejected God, they have rejected absolute truth and are therefore aiming their weaponry at anything, which reminds them of the fact God is the Creator and Sovereign of the universe. Because the secular left denies the existence of God, they believe they are the ones in command of the universe. Carl Trueman has made this point very powerfully by stating:
“In killing God, you take on the responsibility – the terrifying responsibility – of being god yourself, of becoming the author of your own knowledge and your own ethics. You make yourself the creator of your world.”2
The whole centerpiece of this idea is that if you reject God, then you have rejected His standard for truth, ethics, reality, and everything else. That repudiation necessitates you will substitute your own opinions and live according to your own rules. Everyone truly does what is right in their own eyes under such beliefs (Judges 21:25). Biblical manhood and womanhood are grounded in the fact God created humanity and has ordained the proper role and function of each gender for His own glory. Once a society rejects this concept, they will insert their own ideas as to what proper gender roles are in life. However, because that society does not believe in absolute truth, they have no place to anchor these roles. At that point, they will spiral out of control to a point where they do not believe in gender being a fixed reality . . . welcome to the 21st century!
The entirety of this thought process relates directly back to the masculinity Senator Hawley is calling men to live up to. Since the Christian worldview believes humans are directly responsible to their Creator who has commanded how they must live, then I, as a Christian man, understand my calling before God. I will not live it out perfectly, that is why I need redemption in Christ, yet every day, I must strive to live according to His Word as the man He has created me to be! However, the left hates the biblical dictates for men, not only because weak men make tyranny easy to accomplish, but also because masculinity stems directly from the act of creation by God recorded in Genesis (literally). The secularists believe men are evolved pond scum, Christians believe men (and women) are made in God’s image, thereby possessing intrinsic worth in His sight. The worldview believing men evolved from pond scum will expect them to live accordingly. At the same time, Christianity calls men to live with courage, strength, love, tenacity, grit, humility, compassion, and to exercise their role as leaders because, as their Creator God has commanded this of them. Scripture calls men to love their wives, disciple their children, care and provide for their families, serve the local church, help others, stand against those performing evil, and to lay down their lives as Christ did for the church. The left’s view of men stems from a rotten worldview filled with falsehood because it is based on the lies of the world. Christianity invites men to walk in the wonder of masculinity as defined by God to be used for His glory and the good of others!
The Only Solution
The exclusive solution to the issues America faces from the radical Leftist agenda is to bow the knee to Jesus and seek to live out the Christian worldview based on Scripture. A man must come to Christ to learn how to live out his role in a way which is pleasing to God. This fact means Christians must challenge the leftist worldview at every turn with the truth of Christianity. Any system that says women are men, men are women, and that men can become pregnant cannot last very long in the big picture. Certainly, it can wreak much havoc prior to its destruction, understanding that reality, believers must fight for those things which are good as defined by God. We must stand for the truth with grace and respect. Certainly, we should call men to act like men and women to practice biblical femininity for God’s glory.
Senator Josh Hawley has put his finger right on the issue. I am glad he is standing with courage and unafraid of the leftist mob which has attacked him. We need more men to exercise that sort of bravery and conviction by standing on the truth. May we all learn from his example in this controversy and seek to honor Christ by proclaiming the Scripture with conviction. The mobs may rail, governments may attempt to shut us down, but Christ is the Judge, and we are accountable to Him. So, let us keep heralding the truth to a world that desperately needs to hear it!
Sources
1 All quotes from Senator Hawley are from this article: https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/11/its-time-to-reinvest-in-american-men/
2 Carl Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of The Modern Self, p. 170.
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