I recently watched a video, linked below asking Londoners, “What are men good for?”
Superficially the video was funny but at a deeper level it was tragic.
There were basically 2 questions: What are women good for and what are men good for?
The answers were:
Ok, I recommend you watch the video, as of course there is nuance and editing.
What struck me most though, was the reflexive nature of the response. I was surprised by how naturally everyone reverted to the ‘regime narrative’ even if it wasn’t a deeply held conviction - Men are pointless, ha ha!
One chap was completely flummoxed when asked if men were important in society. He thought long and hard about it. I can’t decide if he was working through an answer in his mind or doing a career risk assessment. It took him 25 excruciating seconds to speak. And how disappointing that utterance was.
I believe there are at least two issues.
Both have a spiritual dimension and show a successful enemy attack on God’s created order.
When God created man, then woman in his image. To each he gave a role. To each he gave each a purpose. As we know sin got in the way but this is the important thing, the mission never changed. It just got a lot harder.
None of us can do this job alone. We need both the man and the woman working together. Simply put - man was built to take territory, and the woman was created to fill it, literally and figuratively. It is synergistic, and it is iterative. We need each other but our jobs and approaches to the work are different. It is no accident that we live in a world of immense gender confusion. There is an ongoing spiritual rebellion which attempts to disrupt the advance of the kingdom.
None can deny, though many try to, that men and women were born with different interests, inclinations and dispositions. Most men fall heavily to one side of the spectrum, women fall to the other. Men are more aggressive, target fixated and likely to take greater risks (and get killed quicker in the process). Women are more nurturing, caring and supportive.
I agree that there is subtlety as men’s or women’s traits will be spread along the x axis. Some men are rougher, others are softer in manners and approach. However, I reject entirely the idea that a man or a woman can cross the Rubicon and become a different sex.
If we think of athletes, they are all fit but they all have unique talents. The world’s best 400m sprinter might complete a marathon in a good time but he will never win an Olympic medal. The point I’m trying to get across is not only do we have to work with our natural talents but we must align them with our biology and our mission.
My philosophy pre-supposes that we were created and there is a ‘telos’ to our lives - we have an ultimate purpose - there is a direction we should strive towards and when we live according to God’s plan we will find the greatest fulfilment. You can’t sail into the wind but you can sure harness it and make substantial progress.
The culture is vapid and weak and we have breathed in the fumes of this corruption for too long.
I expect that when people were asked about the point of men, there was an automatic word association in their head.
Man = bad
Yes, there is a tiny percentage of bad men but the real problem we are dealing with here is failing men. Why are men failing?
It is because the culture is vapid and weak and we have breathed in the fumes of this corruption for too long.
Perhaps the Londoners can question the point of the ‘modern man’ but the interviewer was asking the wrong question.
The real question if you want a better answer should be, what is the point of a virtuous man?
He is a man who shapes the world around him for the glory of God
This is what men are good for should anyone ask and much else besides.
We are to do our duty, faithfully and joyfully and do it to the best of our ability.
Many men quietly do much of the above each day, and if the NPCs mock us, the joke is on them. For while they giggle, if we didn’t show up and give our all, within 10 minutes everything would grind to a halt.
So sneer, but you need good men more than you will ever realise.