Last Role Model Standing

Anyone 50 years old or older can correct me if I’m wrong, because mine is a younger perspective… But, used to be there were a lot more good role models around for men, weren’t there?

From local civil servants like police officers and firefighters, to sports figures like Harmon Killebrew, Fran Tarkenton, Barry Sanders, Grant Hill, Phil Mickelson, and Tim Tebow; from celebrities like John Wayne to politicians (yes, there have been a few) like Ronald Reagan or George H. W. Bush, there have been men in the spotlight with qualities worth emulating. Men with sturdiness, bravery, and class. Men with humility, yet strong enough to take a stand. The kinds that conquered the West, scored touchdowns with busted limbs, and ran the gauntlet of complicated and odious human dealings without compromising who they were. The kind who stood up for their women and made romance an art form, protected their children and property, and rolled up their sleeves when the going got tough.

Even in the comics there have always been manly figures who displayed courage, sacrifice, integrity, and a will to lead others around them. What boy growing up didn’t like the idea of being Superman, Batman, or Captain America?

Don’t look now, but the quintessential male role model is fast becoming an extinct symbol of American culture. Well within my own relatively brief lifetime, it’s gotten to the point where the majority of sports figures seem to be all about chest-pounding and taking to Twitter to verbally spar with opponents over trivial nonsense. It’s gotten to the point where there’s cowards and cheaters and criminals within every aforementioned group: corrupt law enforcement officials, crooked and back-pocket-stuffing politicians, addiction-riddled or – dare I say it? – “fruity” male celebrities (or actors who themselves may not be sell-outs, but who, in many of their shows, play spineless wimps of men who let their homes run them – see Ray Romano in “Everybody Loves Raymond).

Well, at least the masculine tradition of the world of comics has remained intact. Wait. What’s that you say? Ahem, I stand corrected. Ladies and gentlemen, this just in:

Thor is now a woman.  

 

That’s right, you heard me correctly. Marvel Comics has just changed the character of Thor – the mighty, hammer-wielding, Norse warrior/god of longtime mythology – into a woman. Not gave him a female counterpart. Not renamed Thor as Thorina, the female version….Replaced him. As if to say Thor never was a man. As if to show that he should’ve been a female from the beginning.

It’s certain that the social media world and online forums will be ablaze with outrage and debate and speculation as to why on Earth Marvel Comics decided to do this, and all the ramifications that stem from this big change. That is NOT the purpose of my mentioning this. My point, instead, is simply that male role models are vanishing.

By the way, permit me a quick aside: I write all this today not to infer that females don’t need a role model (because they do), nor to convey that the exact same isn’t happening to womankind (because, I’m sure, to an extent it could be). I write this because the only perspective I’m experienced with in this matter is the male’s, and, more importantly, because I subscribe to the belief that God established men to have a massively important leadership role within not only the family, but also society.

That aside serves well, actually, as an introduction to what I’m truly driving at here.

For, if all the available traditional male role model sources are being weakened, tarnished, or otherwise eliminated or replaced (like Thor), what happens when men start to wonder where they should turn for examples that inspire them to live?

Without Jesus Christ, I propose you would really have nowhere to turn for that answer. You would be in a heap of trouble.

These days are troubled ones indeed. Things like the changing of Thor from a man to a woman by the comic industry leaders are just a small, albeit poignant, symptom of the epidemic overtaking American culture over the last half century or more. But this serves as an excellent blessing in disguise. In years past, it was natural for a majority to be or seem Christian. Even though Christianity has never been an official national religion by law, the traditions of this country that were set up even from the time of the founding generations put into motion a culture of Judeo-Christian expectations for living, and it’s taken all this time for that foundation to be eroded down to the topsoil. Now, as Christianity has been marginalized nationwide, and other countries are sending missionaries to us because they see America as so Godless (and they’re right!) , we have a very different scene. Now, men everywhere have to step back and re-evaluate where they get their foundations from.

This gives the opportunity for a miniature spiritual renaissance to take place, where men everywhere have to go back to the drawing board and rediscover one very critical idea:

We never should have looked any farther than Jesus for a great male role model.

It’s great to be able to see men acting honorably or inspirationally in society, in entertainment, in politics, and hopefully most often within our own homes. Praise the Lord when we see them acting as they should so that their share of the limelight is being used for good. But ultimately, even men at their best are never going to provide the best example. Men, even at their best, are flawed, and their flaws are ever so tragic. Men, even at their best, are inflicted with a sinfulness that leaves them gasping at the foot of the cross of Jesus, weeping for forgiveness.

But Jesus Christ himself, although he was fully man, was perfect. His perfection, something only God incarnate could accomplish, not only played a part in his life’s mission of redemption of fallen men and women, but it also serves as the only, and best, example for men today to follow.

Need a superhuman example of courage, dedication, and bravery? See Jesus, fending off days of relentless temptation by Satan himself as he traveled through the desert, fighting fatigue, starvation, and thirst. See Jesus, standing up to hateful crowds and going about his work of ministry all while knowing that jealous men plotted his demise every step of the way. See Jesus, foreknowing his death on the night before it would occur, praying feverishly in the Garden of Gethsemane, asking God his Father to take away the task, but continually resubmitting himself to whatever was necessary. See Jesus, being led in prison fetters, mocked, spit on, knocked around, and jeered during a late-night rigged court case. See Jesus, kneeling to accept the vicious, ripping sting of the whips Roman soldiers used on him at Pilate’s command to have him flogged. See Jesus, carrying his cross for the nearly half mile journey through Jerusalem, up onto the hill called Golgotha, where he was crucified and gave up his life.

 

Need a superhuman example of humble tenderness, empathy, and friendship? See Jesus, taking the time everywhere he went to heal diseases, speak with outcasts of society, and let little children gather around him to learn and enjoy his glowing mannerisms. See Jesus, standing among the influential people of his time, speaking about difficult and challenging topics like taxes, women’s important roles in society and the church, and how to truly serve God more than just lip-service. See Jesus, understanding the loss of a great companion like Lazarus, weeping outside his tomb before bringing him back to life.

See Jesus, issuing kind and patient words to those who came with endless requests, troubled hearts, or ill-gotten motives and needing direction. See Jesus, preaching to crowds while tired, making sure people were fed, and never letting a teachable moment pass by. See Jesus, gathering to himself a tight-knit group of men from the surrounding communities, mentoring them, teaching them how to lead the church they didn't even know yet that they were going to run, and passing to them the institution of the Holy Sacraments. He shared his life with them and he did it selflessly, with complete integrity, and with endless love in his heart for those around him.

 

Pro athletes, politicians, actors and entertainers, firefighters and policemen, soldiers, and every other kind of everyday man caring for his family, running a business, serving in his church - - let them all strive to be great role models of what men should be.

But wouldn’t it be great if the primary characteristic of such role models was to be men who point to Jesus?

Men out there, listen up! Don’t sweat the troubling signs in society… Athletes will always say the wrong things with a mic in their face, or get DWIs and get suspensions for performance enhancing drugs. Politicians will always lie and neglect upholding the promises they made hollowly while running for office. Celebrities will be troubled and seek solutions for their inner confusion just like the rest of us do who don’t live around cameras. Other men, no matter who they are, will always fail us. But let’s keep showing our sons and the men-to-be of our communities how Jesus was the real way to live like a man!

Let’s focus on being the change we want to see in the world, but more importantly, being the messengers the world needs to see Jesus.

When Jesus is the superhero we most look up to, the tears about Thor’s sex change can be dried more quickly. When things like that happen, it can feel like Jesus is the last real role model standing.

The truth is, he was the first. And he is the only one that counts.