Sharpening Iron

We’re struggling through a crisis of masculinity — what does it mean to be a man? 

Our culture has a difficult time answering this question. On one hand, embracing aspects of masculinity at a young age is frowned upon — boys roughhousing or playing ‘guns’ is accused of being the cause of all social woes. And on the other hand, we see the hypermasculinity of a bearded man with a battle ax and biceps, going it alone with no help and never asking for directions, as toxic too. 

Being a man is somehow a problem and an unattainable ideal at the same time. The result? A lack of what masculine identity is meant to be. 

Without unboxing the entire crisis, we’re going to focus on just one facet of being a man — needing help. 

Men need other men. We need ‘brothers’ in our lives to walk with us, to hold us accountable, to share in our struggles. 

But, we must also remember the flipside of this — other men need us. They need us to speak up, to encourage them, to walk with them. 

Iron sharpens iron. Sometimes we need to be sharpened, but other times, we need to do the sharpening.