​“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt.

Society needs men who dare to be great. The feminization of the modern man is responsible for a great deal of our troubles. When men choose to play it safe, out of fear of judgment or failure, the result is far worse than any sting of defeat. What follows is a society devolved into chaos and ruin, where evil can roam without fear of righteous men to stand in its way.

God calls for men to be strong and fully committed to the cause of Christianizing the world. There will be those who mock, slander, and take offense to your cause, but we must remember that we have an audience of one. We don’t live for man; we live for the Lord.

A main issue I’ve noticed among my Gen-Z male counterparts is the overwhelming desire to play life safe. With the rampant rise of easily accessible (and unfortunately legal) THC variants and pornography right in your pocket, we’re seeing a frightening increase of men who feel no need to achieve anything great.

No desire to build a family or chase a career, and a dopamine reward system so incredibly fried that they’re practically paralyzed. They stay on their couch and rot while playing video games or doomscrolling, watching life pass by day by day. Couple this with antidepressants and a saturation of therapy, no wonder we have a male loneliness epidemic.

It’s a scary world out there, but it’s the job of men to step out into it. We’re hard-wired for adventure and a mission, and without one we fall steeply into despair. Society has shamed men into believing that this is “toxic masculinity”. Nonsense. Masculinity is not toxic; it’s required for a stable society.

The attack against masculinity is real, but my message to men listening is also this: you’re not a victim. Stand up, step out, and grab life by the horns. Lead a life God calls you to live.

There’s also a growing feminization of men in the Church. Soft and squishy sermons call for men to their feelings, and to be loving and understanding of those who are hostile to our beliefs. This is not how God calls the great men of the bible to be. King David was called to slay Goliath and fight many wars to secure Israel, and the Apostles were called into a world that sought to butcher them because of the Gospel.

But of course, the strongest example of righteous masculinity was our Lord Jesus Christ willingly stepping down from Heaven into a fallen world that would hang him from a tree. The message is simply: Godly men do not sit idly by and let the world pass us by. They get up and take action in the name of the Lord.

There’s a child predator who once admitted what he looked for before deciding to lure in a child. He said if he noticed a strong and dangerous father, he stayed away. This is quite indicative of all evil in this world. Strong men who stand in the way of Satan will not only protect themselves, but their families and communities. Fathers have a responsibility to provide and protect, and all men have a duty to their community around them to keep it safe. You must be strong and sober-minded to do so.

As Roosevelt said, no one will remember the critic. There are no statues made for those who comment insults on social media. Only those who were bold enough to dare to be great are remembered. The opinions of those who are too cowardly to act themselves are useless to consider.

For men reading this who are currently paralyzed by fear to step out into life, terrified of failure or mockery. God is on your side, and you have all that you need to succeed in Jesus Christ. He lives in you, and you have nothing to fear. So stand up, take your licks, and march forward. Achieve something worth telling your grandkids about.