Manliness and Mission
Manliness is having a bit of an identity crisis right now. The images and terms we use to describe masculinity are broad, diverse, and sometimes conflicting. Harry Emerson Fosdick identifies one key characteristic of manhood in the following quote. He says,
Only by a stronger passion can evil passions be expelled, and... a soul unoccupied by a positive devotion is sure to be occupied by spiritual demons. The safety of the Master in the presence of temptation lay in his complete and positive devotion to his mission: there was no unoccupied room in his should where evil could find a home... Such is the Master's life of positive goodness, so full oso glad, so triumphant, that it conquered sin by surpassing it.-Harry Emerson Fosdick, The Manhood of the Master
The man, according to Fosdick, is defined by this: he is on a mission. The temptations of evil are unable to sway the real man because he is too busy. His employment with something grater precludes him from distraction, derailment and selfishness. So ask yourself, are you on a mission? How many empty places occupy your heart and with what do you intend to fill them?
