A quote from my favorite feminist, Camille Paglia,  got me to thinking about masculine energy. “The more women succeed and rise up into positions of power, the more remote they become from actual masculine energy.” Reflecting on the present status of feminism, Paglia observed, “We don’t know what we want….My generation produced the sexual revolution and your generation is stuck figuring out how it’s going to work.”  Nicole Russell laments the lose of male energy, “Women have blindly followed the feminist mantra and now find themselves lonely and confused. It’s time to welcome back the patriarchy.”  She sees men, “slowly shriveled to mere shells of themselves in an effort to avoid the witchy brigade of feminist diehards.”  It is an indictment of men in our culture.

Like so many other issues regarding  gender, we have to go back to the order of creation (biblical reality).  “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Gen. 2:15).  These verbs can  be translated “serve” and “guard.”  The NIVZSB notes, “The man has a priestly role to protect the garden sanctuary” (Gen 1:26). When he failed in his task, he was expelled from Eden.  Productive work and guarding the garden were to be part of God’s good plan for man.  It was after his command to Adam that God created Eve as “a  helper suitable for him” (Gen 2:18).

This surely implies energy. Men, think of yourself as Adam, responsible for work in your garden.  Like God, Adam was to be a worker.  Without the taint of sin, work was an undiluted blessing.  The word “work” means “serve.” After the fall work became “painful toil” (Gen 3:17) being accomplished “by the sweat of your brow” (Gen 3:18). Without an understanding of our role as God’s worker in creation, our masculine energy can be distorted, misguided and even intimidated into passivity.

Like each of you, I live in my particular “patch of creation” (sphere of influence).  It has changed over the years from getting married, my vocation as a ordained pastor, raised a family of three and now living together with my wife in our “small monastery” on the lake in the northwoods.  Expressing and living out of godly masculine energy has consistently meant the following for me.  It has not been without its share of pain and disappointment.   I wonder how other readers have been challenged in a similar manner.

First and foremost is taking  initiative and being responsible. In my opinion one of the greatest tragedies among men in our culture today is the passive-aggressive man (the beta man).   The Genesis story tell us that we each have been put in charge of our patch of creation.  We get up every morning to tend our garden.

Second, provide direction and order.  God will show you how to do your work.  He wants you to work for his glory.  We do it grateful, without whining and complaining.

Third, being a  protector.  You are to spiritually fight and defend your patch creation.  God has placed you as a “watchmen” on the walls, alert to spiritual danger. Perceive the danger, name it, and cry out for God to come and do battle on your behalf.

Fourth,  being the priest.  Men, you are God’s priest in your garden.  You bring the presence of God.  Don’t depend on your wife and others in this task.  No one knows the condition of your garden like you do.  At times all you can do is cry out, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” God hears the prayer of desperation.