Here’s to men

I love men. I think they are wonderful!

There is a lot going around right now about standing up for women and their rights, and this is actually one of my life passions. But we don’t hear much about standing up for men. That sounds politically incorrect. But we need to realize this is not a competition. Between men and women I mean. When we truly begin to value one another, we will both thrive!

It is just recently that I have begun to discover and cherish how awesome men are.

Before this could happen, first I needed to discover how amazing women are. I was so ashamed of being a woman. I wouldn’t have told anyone that or even recognized it in myself. But it was true. I was ashamed of being emotional. I was ashamed of being beautiful. I was ashamed of wanting to be beautiful. I was ashamed of my need for love. I was ashamed of the deep compassion in my heart. I was ashamed of the motherly feeling I got around kids. I was ashamed of my unrestricted creativity. I was ashamed of my expressive nature. I was ashamed of my gentleness and ashamed of my passion. I felt too passionate. I felt too gentle. I felt too weak.

We live in a society that hates women. It claims to love women, but deep down it hates women. In retaliation, many people in our society hate men. This creates a downward spiral of hatred, sexual violence, sexual confusion, and wounds that need a whole lot of love to heal.

The hatred of women manifests in the way that our society dishonors and disvalues women. The porn industry is the prime example. Since its start in the 1950s, pornography has gone more and more downhill in the way it associates sexual pleasure with the abuse of women. This is a distortion of the beauty of sex, and I’m convinced that all participation with this spirit (abuse of women) is a counterfeit sex. It was invented by Satan and it sucks. Men partner with it by taking pleasure in abuse, while women partner with it by taking pleasure in their shame.

Another example of how our society hates women is the religious abuse of women. Well-meaning men, out of guilt for their lust problems, have blamed and shamed women. This is not to say it’s all men’s faults because equally have women embraced shame on themselves. We, both women and men, know we need to be pure, but we don’t know how, so we deny the way we were made and embrace destruction. We have been taught to fear and to shun the beauty of women. Men have been taught to “look away.” This is the deeper message: “You cannot handle the beauty of a woman, you are not man enough to protect it, you are not pure enough to honor it.” Women have been taught to hide themselves or else they are making men stumble. This is the deeper message: “You are inherently shameful. Your beauty is not pure enough to be honored. The way you were made causes sin and disgrace.” The end result is both men and women are shamed and controlled by fear. No wonder this isn’t working, as far as purifying the church. It only makes things worse!

The law kills, but the Spirit gives life. When the Spirit took me on a road to purity, it was the most life-giving experience of my life. I felt more like a woman and felt more beautiful than ever before! I started spending more time on myself, dressing more fashionably, and posturing myself in more confidence. Instead of conserving myself more, I became more liberated. It was life, and I felt so alive! I started to laugh more, sing more, dance more, hug more, and damn did I start to cry more. My relationships with both women and men improved and became more life-giving and real.

The good news is that if anyone is in Christ, he/she is a new creation. The old is gone, and the new is here! Our original purity is restored! When Adam and Eve were in the garden, they were naked and unashamed. They were able to love one another as man and woman in complete purity, with absolutely no shame. (Shame is the root of all lust.)

Gen. 1:27 “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (NLT) Half of God’s image is male, half is female.

Now practically this can be hard to envision since we know God as Father. But it doesn’t matter so much what we call him, or if we see him as male, as long as we understand the feminine nature of his heart.

Because God is woman-like (especially Holy Spirit), God likes women. God can relate to women. They are just like him! God made women beautiful, and he’s proud of it. He wants them to show it off. It makes him happy! It reflects who he is! It brings him glory! There is nothing shameful about being a woman, and a lot of people need to hear that.

Once I stepped into my honorable identity as a woman (and oh how I love being a woman), I began to see the incredible mystery that is men. When women retaliate against men it’s because they are afraid of losing their glory, and they think that shaming men is the only way to restore it. But I can wholeheartedly say that Jesus has completely restored my glory, even after a broken past. No one can take this glory away from me. Thus, I can freely love and honor men without fear.

Some of this is thinking out loud because I’m still figuring them out. But I know men are spectacular. They are just like God! They are kind and caring, gentle and compassionate. They are fully of mercy and easily forgive mistakes. They are happy, and they like to laugh and enjoy how funny women are. They are so funny with how rowdy they are. They love to have a good time and live in extreme behavior. They are so full of life!

Men are strong feelers. When they feel the love of God, they feel it very deeply. When they love, they really love. They show it with passion and spiritual fire. It is a strong love that shifts societies and changes nations with its very presence. It is a commanding love. It is courageous and risk-taking. It is bold. It perseveres through extreme conditions. It stands firm through everything.

Men are protectors. They are defenders of humankind. They are defenders of truth, justice, and love. They love beauty and they protect beauty. They make women feel free. Free to be radiant. Free to be glaring lights of beauty.  They make children feel safe and free to run around.

Men can do amazing things. They are good at stuff. When they set their mind to do something, they usually do it.

I love men so much because they make me feel free, alive, beautiful, and safe.

Here’s to men! You guys are my heroes!