the world still needs men
strong men for hard times
Hard times create strong men.
Strong men create good times.
Good times create weak men.
Weak men create hard times.
This excerpt above is one of the oldest, most passed-down quotes, and it simply reflects what happens when “strength” (moral, emotional, and spiritual) is lost across a generation.
It’s a statement of truth that captures the cyclical nature of human behaviour and the constant tendency of man to never learn from the mistakes of his past.
There are a lot of real-life examples that exemplify this quote throughout history, and if you are to view the Bible from a historical perspective, then you’ll see similar stories of how often this same pattern was always repeated.
Strong leader brings peace to the land :> People enjoy peace and prosperity for an entire generation :> New leader emerges during the good times and leads the people into rebellion :> God sends punishment on the land, and the people cry out in repentance :> Another leader emerges and leads the land back into peace :> The strong leader dies, and the people rebel again.
Rinse and repeat.
This was their routine every 40 years or so.
It’s the human condition.
We rise.
We forget.
We decline.
We pay the price.
We try to rebuild.
We succeed.
Then…
We rise again.
We forget again.
We decline again.
…over and over and over.
I see this pattern as one that’s probably always going to be constant until the end of the world.
Which might be sooner than you think, but that’s just by the way.
In my humble opinion, we are currently in the part of the cycle where weak men are creating hard times.
It’s easy to zoom out and focus on the terrible state of the world’s global and political scene, but I’m really more interested in bringing the lens closer to the everyday nuances of society and our regular lives.
Through this lens, we see the homes that are falling apart due to the activities of promiscuous and irresponsible husbands.
Through this lens, we see the consequences of the selfish actions taken by leaders who are corrupt, greedy, and downright heartless.
Through this lens, we see the young boys who grow up lacking in character, emotional stability, and internal strength due to the absence of a strong, present father figure.
I’m not a huge fan of making generalisations, but if you look closely, you’ll clearly see the effects of the actions of weak men in the fabrics of our modern-day culture.
It’s in how most men now avoid every form of responsibility and accountability.
It’s in how many men would rather escape than to lead, rather indulge than to sacrifice, and rather criticise than to correct themselves.
Almost everywhere you look, there’s a visible absence of grounded, dependable, and disciplined men across homes, institutions, and even faith communities.
This reality is very alarming, and it is one of the reasons we have seen more men resort to arrogance, entitlement, violence (especially against women), silence, emotional withdrawal and instability, amongst many other negatives across our society today.
What’s even more alarming is that many younger men, the ones who (according to the cycle) are meant to bring about good times, are now starting to tread this same path as the generation of weak men that came before them.
When strong men step back or when they were never even built in the first place, it is inevitable that chaos will step in.
Evil will spread, and both men and women alike will suffer for it.
On the flip side, we are definitely living in hard times.
And one of the facets of these times that I find the most disturbing is the constant attack on masculinity by certain “groups”.
There’s a growing school of thought that regards the term “masculinity” and every form of its expression as something that’s toxic, misogynistic, and dangerous.
I won’t delve any further into this (maybe later), but my point is that while you can argue against the misuse of their “masculinity” by many men, it will still be blatantly wrong to argue if the world still needs men.
I don’t even know why that is even a real conversation.
Of course, the world needs men.
The world has always needed men, and the world will always need men.
This “need” is not because men are “superior” or because men “own the world”, but simply because when men step into their natural roles and handle their assigned responsibilities with humility, discipline, and purpose, they bring stability, they bring protection, and they bring structure.
It’s impossible to recap history and not see the tangible contributions that many men, both individuals and groups, have made.
Men make things work, and that’s the simple truth.
I don’t think anybody can deny that.
Now, for the sake of objectivity, I have to make a distinction.
Throughout history, there has been no shortage of men who have been utter and total failures.
Some of the worst harm in our world has been caused by men who abused their power, deceived millions, and committed selfish acts.
Unfortunately, many men still do a lot of evil today, in and around our society.
I’m not a “men’s activist”, so I have no interest in defending anybody or making excuses with “it’s not all men though”.
I am very aware of the pain and grief that have been inflicted on many people due to the actions of one man or multiple men at one time or the other.
Those wounds are real, and it’s important to assign the proper responsibility for terrible actions when it's due.
However, I want to critically emphasise that the presence of weak men and the hard times that they periodically cause should not birth a general conclusion that paints manhood as the problem.
It’s very easy to fantasise that “killing all men” will solve every problem in the world, and who knows?
Maybe it might.
Or maybe it might birth a whole truckload of new problems for the world.
I don’t know.
What I do know is that God created men for a reason.
And the solution to failure by a select number is not to reduce masculinity across the board but to demand that men cultivate healthy, redeemed, and grounded habits for themselves.
So I repeat: The world still needs men.
The world needs strong men.
Not just strong in body mass or physical domination, but strong in principle, emotional intelligence, and value.
The world needs men who are willing to be corrected, to grow, to lead, and to serve.
Men who can firmly say “no” when they need to.
Men who will not be slaves to their every whim and impulse.
Men who will not be proud but will always stand by their word out of conviction.
Men who will know how to love their wives, raise their children, build their businesses, challenge their friends, and take care of themselves.
Men who will understand that whatever choices they make ripple outward, and will then handle all their responsibilities with utmost seriousness.
Those are the kind of men the world needs.
And we need them everywhere.
We need them in homes because children thrive better when their fathers are present, active, and emotionally available.
We need them in classrooms because boys need role models and girls need to see that it’s possible for a male authority to be both healthy and respectful.
We need them in leadership because society cannot function without order and integrity.
We need men in faith and values because the next generation will need strong moral guidance, and not just biased opinions and suggestions.
The question now is: Where do we find such men?
If we agree that we’re currently in the cycle of hard times due to the actions of weak men, then it means that what should come next is the good times.
But there can be no good times without strong men.
This means that it is now left to us, the present generation of men, to take charge and set the stage for what comes next.
If we don’t do it, nobody else will, and the current hard times we’re having will last for an even longer time than they have to.
We have to do better.
We need to learn from the errors of the men before us, the errors of the men around us, and the errors from the mistakes we have also made.
It is not too late or too early for us to start making a difference in our world.
If we claim that we know better than our fathers, then let’s do better than them, in every single aspect.
If not for our sakes, then for the sake of the next generation of men that is coming.
Our sons. Our cousins. Our nephews.
All of them.
If we want them to embrace the hardship of responsibility.
If we want their identities not to be rooted in validation.
If we want them to be more respectful toward women.
Then we need to be the strong men that will be forged from these hard times.
It will be a great shame if we grow older and we end up becoming the same men we currently detest.
If we become politicians and join the cycle of corruption.
If we become fathers and choose to be absent from our families.
If we carry on the cruel actions of hate and harassment against women.
It will be a great shame.
The world desperately needs men to do better because the world will always need men.
And now, more than ever, the world needs strong men.
Men that will bring an end to the hard times of this cycle and usher our society into better times.
The world is calling for us to be those men.
Is that too much to ask?
I don’t think so.
This is #1 in a series of posts that will be generally focused on men as we celebrate Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month this June.
See you again soon.
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This is a great write up, very well articulated. It’s refreshing to see conversations around masculinity being led by men themselves, in a way that focuses on responsibility and morality. Usually it's criticisms about toxic masculinity by women that I see, without hearing what men have to say about what it is to be a good man or a strong man, like offering a view of strength that comes without diminishing others or putting other people down, you know? Also, it's nice seeing men's mental health awareness month also being actually brought to awareness. Looking forward to the next posts in the series.
If only we had greater memories and could retain and use the instruction that we have received in the past and then go on to bigger and greater things.