If you were to ask a hundred different people when a boy becomes a man, you'd probably get a hundred different answers. Some would call upon images of Vikings, cowboys, and football stars. Some would speak of holding a job and paying bills. Some would decry masculinity altogether, as an outdated and oppressive societal construct. Others would give fine answers, speaking of noble deeds, chivalry, and courage. Let me begin by telling you what manhood isn't. Many would have us believe that being a man is about living according to selfish primal urges, and living out the fantasies of misguided teenagers. It is a popular belief among many boys with whom I have dealt that being a man means being very easily personally offended, and never letting the offender get away without a beating. (It's worth noting that almost every single time I have encountered this belief, it has been from a boy who is growing up without his father. Food for thought.) There are men, who are far too old to not know better, who believe that a man's life should be a montage of weight room conquests, jokes so filthy that they left funny far behind, and promiscuous encounters, all blurred together in an alchohol-induced haze.
Gentlemen, needless to say (I sincerely hope) that's not what it is...not even close. A real man knows his own frailty. He has been taught self-control, and he learned it. A man understands what the responsibilities that he owns are, and what they require of him. A real man understands the utter foolishness of the world's view of what a man ought to be. Instead, he sets his heart on the truth. He takes his stand on the Word of his God. He does not concern himself with machismo or with convincing others that he is the most interesting man in the world. (That guy's grandkids must be humiliated.) In 1 Kings 2:2-3, the dying King David told his son, Solomon, to "be strong...and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgements, and His testimonies..."