I have not commented on the travesty of our national policy regarding transgender bathrooms.  But a blog by David Murrow over at “Church for Men” got me to thinking about men and our instinct to provide for and to protect women and children. Husbands and fathers are frustrated because the wives and daughters they love could be victimized in the bathroom.  We know that men can be real perverts.  We worry about what goes on in the bathrooms. “Biologically defined men are now allowed to disrobe in front of women,” observes Murrow.  “Most men would see this as a threat to the wives and daughters they are expected to protect.  Furthermore, they are powerless to shield their loved ones because the threat occurs in a place they themselves cannot be.”

This new bathroom policy angers men “because it strips them of their ancient protector role.” This is a deep invasion of the government into a sacred, instinctual duty of men: protection of family.   Even worse, “any man who expresses concern for his daughter’s privacy is labeled a bigot.  Men can’t shield their loved ones – and they’re publicly shamed if they try.”  Just writing this get me upset.  If the prospective I am presenting doesn’t get  you mad as a Dad, then you have capitulated to an imposing “nanny” state mentality.  We live in a culture of female empowerment.  Murrow wonders, “Maybe women don’t need men to protect the any more.  One wonders what society will be like when men finally realize they are no longer needed as protectors and providers.”

Men, you need to understand that husbands and fathers will continue to be stripped of their ability to provide and protect because of the combination of the intrusion power of a “nanny state” which believes it has the right to  supplement the traditional role of husband and father, and the empowerment of women who no longer see the value of the traditional roles of husbands and fathers as necessary.  So, we need to wake up.  We need to be a  part of a Christian culture that will form a culture of resistance to what is happening in our society.

Let me make four suggestions for men who want to be – and who feel called to be – providers and protectors:  

First, get yourself under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Allow Jesus to have lordship of your life. Declare in our family the Lordship of Jesus.  You will need his protection as you stand for your family. 

Second, thank God for the gift and stewardship he has given you as a husband and father of a family.  Unless you have the gift of celibacy, this is why God made you a man.  You have a role to fulfill that no one else can.  You are irreplaceable.  Your family is not a burden but a treasure to fight for.

Third, don’t play the role of the martyred father or defeated soldier.  This is warfare.  The enemy want to destroy your  family by taking you out. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the rapid social changes taking place in our culture, know that there are many other warriors going through the same conflict. 

Finally, as I say often in this blog, cry out to God for mercy and wisdom.  Realize you are desperate and need help.  “Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role play before God.  Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage.  The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace” (Matt. 6:6 – Message).