C.S. Lewis's guide to true masculinity

C.S. Lewis is thought of as one of the most prolific Christian authors of the eighteenth century, or arguably any century. Lewis, in his novel, The Horse and His Boy, uses the character, King Lune, to explain three must have characteristics for kingship, or the lens through which we’ll interpret it, true masculinity.

“For that is what it means to be a king: to be first in every desperate attack and last in every desperate retreat, and when there's hunger in the land (as must be now and then in bad years) to wear finer clothes and laugh louder over a scantier meal than any man in your land.

First in. Last out. Laughing loudest.

True men lead from the front. This means that if there is a danger to be faced, or a burden to be carried, they are the first to act. A man will see to it that pain and hardship fall in his lap before they fall upon those under his care. Too many men think male headship means making demands, getting their way, and riding around on a high horse. But godly leadership doesn’t give us the right to lord our authority over others; but rather it should put us first in line to serve others and lay our lives down for theirs.

While many of us will never be called upon to fight in a physical battle to protect our families, all of us are called to look for opportunities to be first in, last out, and laughing loudest. “For even the son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.” Therefore, a man of God comes home not to be served, but to serve. After a hard day’s work, a godly man enters his home, not with a list of demands, but with an eagerness to give. He comes to relieve the burdens of his wife, not add to them. He comes to play with his kids, not shunt them off to their rooms while he puts his feet up.

Godly men should aspire to give until it hurts and whistle the while. We are called to lean into sacrifice with unconquerable laughter in their hearts. “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls (2 Cor. 12:15). Godly masculinity ought to be the happiest thing you ever saw. A twinkle in the eyes, a brightness in the smile, a laughter in the bones — these are the qualities of a man who has planted his feet upon a Rock and will not be shaken when the earth gives way and the waters foam (Ps. 46:1-3)