Each year, Men’s Health Week shines a spotlight on the wellbeing of men across the UK. The statistics are sobering. Men are less likely to seek help for mental health struggles, more likely to die by suicide, and often carry burdens in silence.
Behind many of these challenges lies a deeper question that is increasingly difficult to answer in today’s world: What does it mean to be a man?
The search for manhood
Many young men are searching for meaning, purpose and identity. They long for something worth dedicating themselves to, something that gives their lives significance. There is a desire to be respected, to be useful, to be courageous, and to make a difference in the world.
The problem is that many of the voices offering answers are pointing in the wrong direction.
Modern culture often measures a man’s worth by his achievements, wealth, physical appearance, social status or sexual conquest. The growing popularity of the “manosphere” reveals that many young men are searching for guidance, purpose and a sense of identity. Online influencers promise confidence, power and fulfilment through self-promotion, dominance and material success.
While some of these voices rightly emphasise discipline, responsibility and ambition, they often define a man’s value by his accomplishments rather than his relationship with God. The result is an endless cycle of comparison, striving and insecurity that leaves many pursuing an identity that never fully satisfies.
If your worth is built upon success, what happens when you fail? If it rests on strength, what happens when you become weak? If it depends on the approval of others, what happens when that approval disappears?
Strength redefined
Against this backdrop, Jesus Christ appears to be an unlikely role model.
He did not accumulate wealth (Matthew 8:20; 2 Corinthians 8:9). He held no political office (John 18:36). He never commanded an army. He willingly associated with society’s outcasts (Luke 15:1-2; Mark 2:16-17). He taught His followers to serve rather than dominate, to forgive rather than seek revenge, and to love rather than exploit (Mark 10:43-44; Matthew 5:44; Ephesians 5:2).
To many people, that does not look like strength at all.
In fact, some men struggle to embrace Christianity because they see dependence upon God as weakness. The idea of surrendering one’s life to Christ can feel contrary to the world’s vision of masculinity. Yet this reveals just how far our understanding of strength has drifted from God’s design.
Jesus was not weak. He demonstrated a kind of strength that is far rarer and more demanding than physical power or social influence.
He showed strength through self-control when He was insulted and falsely accused (1 Peter 2:23; Matthew 26:62-63). He showed courage when He confronted hypocrisy and injustice (Matthew 23:27-28; John 2:14-16). He showed humility by washing His disciples’ feet (John 13:4-5). He showed steadfastness by remaining faithful to His mission despite suffering (Hebrews 12:2; Luke 9:51). And He showed sacrificial love by willingly giving His life on the cross for the salvation of others (John 15:13; Romans 5:8).
The cross is not a symbol of weakness. It is the greatest demonstration of strength the world has ever seen. Jesus endured what He could have escaped because He chose obedience to His Father and love for humanity (Matthew 26:53-54; Philippians 2:8). He laid aside status and privilege for the sake of others (Philippians 2:6-7). What could be more honourable than willingly laying down one’s life for those one loves (John 10:17-18)? In doing so, He redefined greatness itself.
This is also what true leadership looks like.
In a world where leadership is often associated with power and control, Jesus taught that the greatest leader is the one who serves (Mark 10:42-44; Luke 22:26). Christian leadership is not about demanding honour and respect, but instead taking responsibility and being accountable. It is not about asserting superiority but using one’s strength for the good of others (Philippians 2:3-4). Whether as fathers, husbands, friends, pastors or colleagues, men are called to lead not through domination but through sacrificial love (Ephesians 5:25; Colossians 3:19; 1 Peter 5:2-3).
Becoming the man God intended
The same principle applies beyond men. Jesus is not merely the perfect example of masculinity; He is the perfect example of humanity. He reveals what every person was created to be. In Him we see courage without aggression, confidence without pride, authority without abuse, and humility without insecurity (Philippians 2:6-8; Matthew 11:29; John 13:13-14).
Perhaps one of the most freeing truths of the Christian faith is that we do not need to carry life’s burdens alone. Jesus never taught people to suppress their fears, struggles or weaknesses. Instead, He invited them to bring everything to God (Matthew 11:28-30; 1 Peter 5:7). True strength is not pretending to have all the answers. True strength is trusting the One who does (Proverbs 3:5-6; Isaiah 40:29-31).
The search for identity, purpose and meaning is ultimately not solved by looking deeper within ourselves but by looking to the God who created us (Psalm 139:13-14; Jeremiah 29:11). The fulfilment many people seek through success, status or self-made achievement is found in relationship with Him (Ecclesiastes 2:11; John 10:10).
To follow Jesus is not to become less of a man. It is to become the man God intended from the beginning. It is to reject the false standards of a broken world and rediscover the dignity, purpose and identity for which we were created (Genesis 1:27; Ephesians 2:10; Romans 12:2).
Final thoughts
As Men’s Health Week reminds us of the challenges many men face, perhaps there is no better time to look again at Jesus Christ. In Him we find not only a model for manhood, but the way to life itself (Colossians 2:9-10).
Dear reader, whether you are a man wrestling with these questions or someone seeking to support the men in your life, my prayer is that you would discover in Jesus the strength, purpose and hope that so many are searching for.
For He is the way, the truth and the life – the perfect picture of what humanity was always meant to be (John 14:6; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3).