Day Six: Describe your image of the ideal man (Jesus excepted).
This
was a complex question that required a good deal of thought and reflection.
Here’s what I have come up with.
The
chief duty of a man is to provide and protect. In the most basic family unit
the mother bears and raises the child while the man provides food, shelter, and
defense for her while she does so. Therefore the key virtue of man could be
said to be strength; strength channeled through devotion. I believe that every
quality a man can posses will ultimately boil down to this formula: strength channeled
through devotion.
The
ideal man, therefore, will have a very specific purpose to his life, one which
will direct his energies in a particular direction. In addition, he’ll have or
seek to develop the ability to fulfill his purpose.
Now,
the purpose that drives the man’s devotion must be a worthwhile one; if it is
too limited or insignificant it won’t allow him to develop his strength and he
will atrophy. If it is impractical or utterly unattainable he won’t be able to
properly pursue it (since you can’t use an illusion to guide yourself). If it’s
an unworthy or morally deficient goal, it will warp his strength or turn it
into ruthlessness and cruelty (the image I have is of a cannon; if it’s pointed
at the correct target, it’s effective. If it’s mishandled, it’s just
destructive).
So
the ideal man will devote himself to a worthwhile purpose, which will nurture
his strength and cause it to increase, bringing him closer and closer to
achieving his purpose.
That’s
in the abstract. Dialing down a bit closer to earth, the ideal man would look
something like this:
He
is a professional; whatever his particular occupation is, he is an expert at
it. In the face of opposition he holds his ground firmly, yet calmly; he
accepts no insult, nor does he insult anyone. He is supremely sure of who he is
and what he believes and is comfortable with himself. If he has a family, they
are his first priority. He never lies, he never cheats, he never compromises
his principles.
If
you met him, you would find him a pleasant, engaging acquaintance. He would
strike you as someone who is at peace with himself and who knows his place in
life. There would be no bitterness about him, whatever his current situation.
If things were going badly for him, he probably wouldn’t mention it, or if he
did it would be in an off-the-cuff, disinterested manner. If things were going
well, he might tell you how grateful he was. He might be talkative and
friendly, or he might be taciturn and reserved, but he would always be polite
and never give offense.
You
would come away with the impression that this was someone you could depend on;
someone who seems to have figured out something you haven’t. You would
certainly consider him a friend worth having, and you would pity the man that made
him an enemy. For you would sense that, however polite and friendly the man
might be, here was someone who could never be bullied or intimidated into
submission. Here were great reserves of strength that could be directed on any
obstacle with devastating force, and woe to the one who tried to be an obstacle
to this man’s purpose.
There’s
a quality about the ideal man that is hard to capture in words: a sense of
solidity, the slightly intimidating impression that this is someone you could
never move or manipulate. At the same time, though, you enjoy spending time
with him because of his engagingly good nature. The ideal man inspires not only
liking, but respect in those who meet him. It’s a similar effect to when we
encounter, say, a waterfall, or a thunderstorm, or a beautiful piece of music.
It’s the sense that here is something that is closer than most things to how it
ought to be: a clearer-than-usual
image of God.
