To Live

To live a life worth living, a man must have something worth dying for, and I do not believe that there are any moral or principal grounds and which this something to die for exists, just that it does exist.

For some, that may be money, and for others, that may be love. Every soldier I know would die for his country. Something to live for and something to die for falls in an area not discussed often in the realms of masculinity, and that something is passion.

And I am not talking a night of passionate lovemaking; I am talking about a belief that exists and occupies the depth of a man’s soul at such an extreme as to overpower our senses of self-preservation.

This passion should not be confused with your hill to die on; I have heard people throwing that expression around so much lately that I wonder if its meaning has not lost its meaning now on the people who say it. Your hill to die on is generally something you are willing to lose your friends over, or family, over maybe your social media account. I am talking about that thing that you would take a bullet to protect.

My Passion

For some men, this is not a hard question. Personally, it is not a hard question. I have two passions I would sacrifice my life for in this world.

My God

My first passion is my God. Most of you that read this are probably a follower of mine on Twitter or Facebook or Instagram, and you probably have a pretty good idea that I am a Christian, that I am very Christian. I live my life with a strictness that most people do not.

I strive daily to live my life in a way that would be pleasing to God. This passion comes from Christ’s passion. My God came to earth, became flesh, was tortured and killed, and he did it all for you and me. For this reason alone, one of my passions is for God. Attempting to avoid politics, I often feel like a day is coming soon in our future where I will have to make a choice and probably take a bullet for my God.

My Family

My second passion is my wife and children, my family. There is not an ounce of me that would think twice about giving my life in exchange for their safety and wellbeing. And any husband and father should be able to say that their family is one of their passions, that their family is something to lose their lives over.

Maybe you are not religious, and maybe you are single, so what I just said does not apply to you. Men do not have to share the same passions, but again, I would question a man whose family was not his.

If this is not a question you have asked yourself and answered for yourself, I do not expect you to have a quick and easy answer for yourself. But this is something that you need to think about and find an answer to; what is something to lose your life over? Why do we even need something to die for, and why is this necessary for a man’s growth?

To Grow

I cannot answer that first question for you, but we can talk about the second one. Your something to die for is a focus point for your life. Your passion is what you will strive to build towards in this life. 

If your passion is crack, you will consume your life by getting more of it. If your passion is alcohol, your life will revolve around obtaining it. If your passion is God, you will work towards being more devout to him in your life. If your passion is your wife, you will spend energy in your life, ensuring a happy marriage.

Your something to die for is your guide to your life. It is your list of levels that are important in your life. A man will not cheat on his wife when he is willing to die for her. A man whose passion is his children will make sure that he spends time with them, teaches them, and shows them, love.

Why do you need something to die for? So that you know what you are living for and you are improving towards that daily.

Mission

There is something to die for that is necessary for all men’s growth for one straightforward reason; men need a mission. Biologically men are wired to seek a result from everything that they face. For our ancestors, they had to bring home meat that the family could eat and that the clan could survive.

In modern times we have so many distractions that it can be hard to move toward a focal point. We, as men, need goals, and we need motivations. For instance, my passion for my family drives me daily to work my homestead to provide them with safe chemical-free food, that is healthy for them, that will ensure their health.

Can we have men exist without something to die for? Absolutely. Will we prove ourselves as worthy as men without something to die for? Most likely not. And I’m not saying to make a list of things you like and decide on what you want to die for, because that’s not really how it works. You have to find something that provides such value to your life that it is worth giving your life to preserve.

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life, for his friends.”

Padre

Twitter @HmestedPadre
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