Intentional Father by Jon TysonSample

Jon Tyson: Intentional Father Devotional Day 5

“Masculine Values”

Scripture reading: Deuteronomy 31:6; John 12:26; Ephesians 6:10-18

In his book The Way of Men, author Jack Donovan says that the four masculine values are strength, courage, mastery, and honor.

Think about it. If you have a bunch of men in a room or off in the woods somewhere, whether in a sports team or at youth camp, what’s one thing they’re always testing in each other? Physical strength. They wrestle, fight, throw things, lift rocks, and arm wrestle. Men are always testing their strength.

And within that community of men will always come tests of their courage. They’ll climb trees or scale a boulder or hunt. Someone in that group will always look to show off their courage.

They’ll seek mastery too, whether it’s in mathematics, shipbuilding, lifting weights, or catching a ball. They’ll throw horseshoes or shoot at targets or discuss their topic-specific knowledge, all in a quest to show they have mastered something.

And it’s through these three values combined—strength, courage, and mastery—that

men seek what they truly want: honor.

You can see all four of these masculine values in the way Jesus led his life. Jesus was the strongest man who ever lived—I’m not talking physical strength, although as a carpenter he was probably physically strong. The kind of strength I’m referring to is the strength of character and strength of spirit. He had no fear of man, was willing to confront anyone, and was willing even to turn potential disciples away.

Jesus also showed courage—the courage to confront, the courage to welcome the outsider into his inner circle, the courage to defy the understanding and expectations of what people thought a Messiah should be or do or act like. The courage to face an excruciating death.

And Jesus mastered things. He mastered the Torah. He mastered walking with his heavenly Father. He was a master at teaching the Scriptures.

Because of these things, we honor Jesus now, 2,000 years after he walked the earth, as Lord above all others.

I think there’s real value in helping your son learn to be strong, to have courage, and to master something, and through these things to experience a sense of honor. And wouldn’t we rather our sons learn these values than others the culture might try to teach him?

How does your son already exhibit these masculine values? How can you shore up his values in areas where he is weaker?