Many of the early battles God will bring into a young man’s life have a particular theme; taking responsibility. One of the least masculine things you can see is a fully grown man blaming events and other people for the difficulties he finds himself in. Strong and godly men take responsibility. Boys and weak men blame. One of the reasons our world is in such chaos today is because men have failed to take responsibility for themselves and the people around them. God designed men to lead, but so often they prefer passivity.
Where do we see this in the Bible? The best place to look is in Genesis where we see what things were supposed to be like before the fall into sin. In Genesis 1:26-28, we see God created mankind in his image and likeness to have dominion over the created earth and its creatures. The task for mankind was to fill the earth and subdue it.
So what is a man’s role in all of this? As we look at Adam, we see that responsible masculinity is tied to a number of areas. The first area is authority. Adam was designed with authority. God gave him responsibility for all of creation. He was to have dominion or rule over creation, and that rule included rule over Eve who was created to help him in his role. Notice that Adam named the animals alone, and he also named Eve. He was designed to exercise authority in the dominion mandate.
The second area of responsibility for Adam, connected with his role of authority was teaching. God gave Adam the command about not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was Adam’s responsibility to pass on and teach Eve and ultimately his children this command. Responsible masculinity is about passing on the knowledge of God to our wives and children.
Next, Adam was responsible for working and through that work providing. Genesis 2:15 demonstrates this. Here God puts Adam in the garden to work and keep it. In working the garden, we see the masculine responsibility of providing food. God didn’t design the garden as some idyllic island vacation where Adam and Eve were to sun themselves sitting in hammocks while waiters brought them cold drinks and snacks. Yes, the garden provided plenty of food, but Adam was still designed to work in it, and ultimately through his offspring to continue to fill the earth and subdue it. The garden was in miniature what he and his children were to continue to do with the rest of the earth.
Finally, we see that Adam was designed to protect. Obviously, a man’s body indicates this. Men are larger and stronger than women. But the Genesis account specifically mentions the role of protection. Again in Genesis 2:15, we read that Adam was placed in the garden to keep it. Here is the suggestion of protecting and guarding. God knew that Satan was on the loose, and knew Adam would need to protect the garden and all who dwelt in it from him.
So in summary, Adam was designed to exercise authority, to teach, to provide and to protect. As the original man, we can infer from this that these things are masculine responsibilities. Therefore, a man is responsible to rule, teach, provide for and protect his family. And to the extent that a man succeeds in this arena, he should, as God allows, fulfil these duties in wider society.