Why does Manchild exist? The last thing any of us need is another reason to stare at screens to distract ourselves from our lives we aren’t happy with. We started Manchild on a hunch. Maybe there are a bunch of folk out there feeling the same way we do. When we were kids we woke up and knew exactly what we wanted to be. When it was time to play cowboys and Indians, there was no doubt I was Wyatt Earp. I didn’t need anyone to approve of it, I didn’t need all the information or a great plan, I just grabbed my cap gun, my chaps and hat and it was go time. At some point I felt the need to be qualified, or approved of to do the things I daydreamed about when I was a kid. I loved the idea of being on the open water and chasing down big fish, but somehow those visions of grandeur turned into the internal conversation of “what do you know about boats?, You can’t even tie a palomar knot. “ We make these assessments and slowly agree we are disqualified to do the things we love and too afraid to ask how to move closer to them.
Is there a bigger tragedy in the story of modern man? We psyche ourselves out from becoming, doing, experiencing the stuff we knew we were in the backyard. We convinced ourselves, that’s what being a man is; to take the deal offering the most security, the most convenience and the highest percentage chance to end up with a home theater system. By the way, a man cave is just a place to go hide from the things challenging us, but that’s a whole other discussion. Those little deals we’ve made along the way are killing us from the inside out. The only things I regret are the things I didn’t try to do. When those types of regrets pile up, the sicker we become, ill to the point we no longer have the confidence to express ourselves to our wives, our children, our friends. We slowly slip into a molten shed of ourselves and the big ideas and dreams we had. Whether you believe in Jesus or not it’s hard not to admire one of the central themes of his teachings. He constantly challenged everyone around Him to simultaneously be children, and to man up. Be humble and run to Him like a child, and face all your fears and excuses like a man. I heard a quote credited to St. Irenaeus stating “the glory of God is man fully alive.” What a compelling thought. The thing God delights in the most, and He has a lot to choose from, is us firing on all cylinders, Us fearless and creative, bold and interesting, romantic and dangerous. This is who we were created to be, but we aren’t living it. Not even close.
We pursue our wives, fiancés and girlfriends like 13 year olds, we gossip like cheerleaders instead of confronting each other, we watch shows of dudes doing things we love instead of doing them. We are too arrogant to ask the right questions to improve the pursuits we love. Manly yet infantile in all the wrong ways. Manchild exists to ask you a question. What would you do if you weren’t afraid to struggle? Manchild exists to guide you through the space between big dreams and thick drudgery. The best stuff comes from the toughest seasons of life. We call it Struggling Well. Let’s quit pretending and expose the amateurism in all of us and celebrate it. Let’s struggle on purpose, theirs big living on the other side of it.