A permissive culture focused on personal fulfillment and selfish pursuits has produced the ethos of rape.
Stanford swimmer Brock Turner was indicted for raping an inebriated young woman he found in distress. Many said, “Boys will be boys.” But when the first response by a young man finding a woman in distress is to abuse her, it indicates a decision that was made prior to that moment.
His father said, “His life will never be the one that he dreamed about. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action.” But what is 20 minutes for him has consequences for her that last a lifetime.
How we respond in a moment of stress is based on the deepest beliefs of our heart. (click to tweet) If there is little concern for others, and our main concern is for personal pleasure, the response under pressure will be selfish, self-centered, lustful.
A man who wants to be larger in life must first learn to make decisions against himself. (click to tweet) He must learn to do what is right against what he desires. Most men in our culture are taught to go for what makes them happy. It is a failed philosophy. Pursuing the failed philosophy of “what makes you happy” will produce results that leave families abandoned, women abused, and children fatherless. The traumatic results are evident.
Christianity grew quickly in the first century because the churches gathered not only the men but also the women and the children. Women did not flock to churches because it was an emotional release or because they were allowed. Women flocked to Jesus because they were affirmed, honored, and set free.
Christianity has always honored women. To dishonor, condone dishonor, or attempt to be a neutral observer to dishonor, is to live in opposition to the Word of God. To allow depreciating of women, and not speak up about it, is sin. It is straight up ungodly.
Today, around the world women are being abused, raped, dishonored, and mistreated. We as real men, strong men, must not allow this to go unspoken or to be covered up. It is time for godly men to speak up, stand up, and man up. It is time for Christian men to raise a standard for masculinity. (click to tweet)
Three Hebrew teens were thrown into the fiery furnace because they stood when all others bowed. When the culture around them paid homage to the gods of the age, those young men resisted the culture…they stood. They didn’t yell or scream or make a scene against the culture…they stood. Today, godly men stand.
Trampling the ethos of rape and replacing it with a culture of honor will not happen by you as a man being quiet. It happens by taking a stand. There must be a group of men who are men of honor, who resist the pull of a permissive culture, who stand when others bow.
