I worry that men, women, and children are suffering from misunderstandings about and a lack of appreciation for manhood – or, perhaps “real manhood” if we want to distinguish between true manhood and the world’s misunderstandings of it both past and present (and I think we should).

Real manhood blesses lives (that is the whole point of it!) and returns peace, happiness, and even joy to the man. Perhaps it has these six primary components:

1. Absolute and active commitment to God.
2. Complete devotion to his wife and her well-being in every respect (see #4 below).
3. Complete devotion to his children and their healthy development (see #4 below).
4. Constant striving to possess the attributes of Christ more completely – including becoming more loving, patient, kind, diligent, etc.
5. Willingness to proactively lead (and share leadership with his wife).
6. Profound respect for the equality, roles, and attributes of women – and for the roles and attributes of men.

For this week’s post, I’ve decided to begin a list of important scriptures with regard to manhood. However, rather than list those scriptures here where they might remain stuck in a finite list, I’ve decided to create a page for them on this site and list them there. That way, it will be easier for me to add to and revise the list from time to time – since I’m sure I’ll miss a lot in this first round. In fact, I very much welcome your suggestions for adding to this list!  You can find it here.