“When men exercise deep loyalties to women and children, when we take responsibility to protect and defend them, we are at our best; when we violate those loyalties, we are at our worst. We become abusers on the one hand, or passive cowards on the other. We place ourselves under the rightful scorn of women and under the judgment of God.”
– Randy Alcorn

In the past few months on social media, I have witnessed some horrendous physical attacks on women:

• I watched a middle-aged woman named ‘Holly’ take a vicious punch to the face in a Cincinnati, Ohio street brawl, which knocked her unconscious and resulted in brain trauma. Multiple young men videoed her lying on the ground but not one intervened on her behalf.

• I watched the uncensored stabbing and ultimate death of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina. Several men sat within a few feet of her but did not intervene for at least 90 seconds – after she had slumped to the floor in a puddle of blood.

• And, I watched Payton McNabb, a female volleyball player in Murphy, North Carolina, take a direct spike to her face from a transgender athlete. She suffered severe head and neck injuries that will likely impact her for life.

Against such attacks, it is time for ‘Men to be Men’, which means living out their role as protectors. Men who follow Christ will make it a priority to protect the women and children in their life.

Men as Protectors

God has instituted a “protector” vocation on men. God’s design of man as a protector is revealed in the physical differences between male and female (1 Pet. 3:7). Furthermore, Paul tells husbands to care for their wives as they would their own bodies (Eph. 5:28).

Not surprisingly, Jesus serves as our example of how to protect others:

• He protected vulnerable women from the scorn and contempt of religious leaders (Luke 13:10-17).
• He protected His disciples from unlawful arrest and mistreatment (John 18:8).
• He protected children from unkind and unfair rejection (Luke 18:15-17).
• He protected people from the wiles of Satan and his demons (Luke 8:26-39).
• And He laid down His very life in order to protect us from the punishment that was due our sin (Rom 3:19-26; 6:23).

Furthermore, sons should be ready to protect their mothers. Brothers should be prepared to protect their sisters and younger siblings. If you are a man, then God has called and designed you to be a protector.

A Heart of Courage

Out of a heart of courage, mature manhood accepts a God-given responsibility to protect those under his care. Current culture labels the historic notion that men are to be the primary protectors of women an outdated social construct that reeks of the paternalism of days gone by.

Sadly, women today have learned they must protect themselves and not depend upon the protection of men. Because we live in a fallen world and people with violent, evil intentions look to harm or take advantage of vulnerable women, it is right to encourage females to be vigilant and teach them how to protect themselves from potential enemies.

But this affirmation of the importance of women protecting themselves does not undermine the fact that, from the beginning of creation, man has – by God’s design – borne a unique responsibility to protect his family, particularly women and children. As John Eldredge points out in his book Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret to a Man’s Soul, a hesitant, overly nice, weak man is the last thing a woman needs.

Your manhood depends on whether or not you will engage someone who attempts to harm others, particularly a woman or child.

What Manhood Looks Like

So, what does it look like to protect others physically?

• In Tumwater, Washington, during an ‘initiative signing event’ sponsored by Let’s Go Washington, moderator Brandi Kruse asked all the men at the event to form a large, protective circle around 16-year-old Frances Staudt before she began speaking.

Check out the video by clicking on the picture below:

Miss Staudt is the female basketball player who refused to play against a local team with a male basketball player masquerading as a female. She has taken a significant amount of verbal abuse and received threats from the LGBTQ mob – who was present at the event. Nearly every man there heeded the call, and my heart filled with gratitude as I watched them do exactly what they were called by God to do – protect a young woman who was being threatened.

Initiative to Defend Girls’ Sports

Here’s another practical way you can help protect girls who play sports in our state. You can help lead the battle to sign an initiative to protect them by not allowing biological boys to play against them. The initiative is called IL26-638: “Protecting Fairness in Girls’ Sports”. Order yours here, and it will arrive to your home with a pre-paid return envelope.

Also, you can come to our Apologia 2.0 event in Edmonds on November 2nd. The event is about this specific issue and initiative. Click here for more details.

 

A Rally Cry

Men, this letter is meant to serve as a rally cry to help.

• Right now, there are women (and men) being bullied at various stations where initiative signatures are being collected all across the state of Washington. Organize a team of men from your church, place of employment or neighborhood and volunteer to form a human shield around these signature tables. (Here is the link for Let’s Go Washington events.)

• If Drag Queen shows are taking place on your local school grounds, in libraries or around local parks, gather a group of men to create a human wall around the Drag Queens to prevent young children from seeing these atrocities.

• If abortions against helpless babies are being carried out in your neighborhood, you have a role to do what you can to protect the most vulnerable in our nation. Right now “40 Days for Life” is holding vigils at abortion clinics. They need you. In Washington State, there are some 17,000 abortions each year, or about 1 abortion every 30 minutes.

• Should you see a woman being harassed or physically threatened in public, if possible quickly gather a few nearby men and encourage them to confront the perpetrator. It is what men were created to do.

Not Too Late To Make Amends

I wonder what would have happened if right from the very start of this woke ideology, men had teamed up to escort biological men out of women’s restrooms, to drag them out of our girls locker rooms, and to stand on the sidelines and prevent any male from participating in women’s sporting activities. It would have been glorious!

But it is not too late to make amends.

And while you’re at it, let’s immediately resume the manners that have historically honored women: opening doors, offering your seat in public places, pulling out chairs, offering to lift or carry heavy items, walk on the street side of sidewalks, providing a clean handkerchief to a tearful woman, and avoiding cursing in the presence of a female (and children). Make sure these courtesies are taught to our young men at home or in Sunday School classes.

What do you say men? Are you willing to start the tidal wave?

I will end with one inspiring example called “Jesus on 3”. Click the image below to see the video of young men standing up on the streets against Antifa:

Defending the family,

Brad Payne, President
FPIW Action