The Man in the Arena: Part 1 - Perseverance
Our culture is facing a crisis of masculinity - not of physical strength, but of moral substance. Too many men have been emotionally and spiritually sidelined. Men today are often discouraged, disoriented, and depressed when they should be determined to stay in the arena and fight the good fight until the very end. What we need are Chiseled men.
- Men who don’t just sit in church but stand for Christ.
- Men who don’t go to the bar but set the bar.
- Men who swing the hardest when their family is on the ropes.
- Men who lean in when everyone else checks out.
There are moments in history when words become more than just ink on a page - they become a fire in the bones of men. On April 23, 1910, President Theodore Roosevelt stood in the Sorbonne in Paris and delivered a speech titled "Citizenship in a Republic." It was 35 pages long, touching on many themes, but tucked in the heart of that speech was a paragraph that would set a fire in the souls of men. Today, we simply know it as The Man in the Arena.
The Man in the Arena by President Theodore Roosevelt
“It is not the critic who counts;
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles,
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly... who errs, who comes short again and again... but who does actually strive to do the deeds...
who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions;
who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails,
at least fails while daring greatly...”
Over a century later, Roosevelt’s words echo with powerful force. When passive or toxic masculinity seem the only ethics for men today, our wives, children, and world is looking for men who are willing to enter the arena. Men who are chiseled - shaped by the hand of God, hardened by perseverance, refined through suffering, and forged in the fire of discipline and surrender.
The crisis in masculinity cannot be solved by any other means than a generation of men stepping away from the sidelines and into the arena to fight the good fight and stand for what is right. It will take courage, and it will come at a cost, but those who persevere in the end will have made an impact.
CHISELED: The Trials & Tools That Transform a Man is a new IMPACT Cohort study for men who want to learn how to embrace growth in the midst of struggle, suffering, disappointment or discipline. If you want to be the man, husband, father, and leader you are created to be, you must be willing to be chiseled. Join or start an IMPACT Cohort and participate in this 7 week study. Start growing here.
National Director | IMPACT Players
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