April 01, 2025

3 proving grounds to manhood

7 minutes

Garth Heckman

The David Alliance

What are the marks of a man in history?

Across the globe, various cultures have developed unique and often intense rituals to mark a young male's transition into manhood. These rites of passage serve to test physical and mental fortitude, impart cultural knowledge, and solidify the individual's place within the community. Here are a few examples:

Amazonian Tribes (e.g., Sateré-Mawé):

A particularly grueling ritual involves the "bullet ant glove." Young men must wear gloves filled with hundreds of highly venomous bullet ants, enduring excruciating pain to demonstrate their strength and resilience.

Ethiopian Tribes (e.g., Hamar):

The "bull-jumping" ceremony requires young men to leap across the backs of several cattle, proving their agility and courage.

Pacific Islands (e.g., Vanuatu):

"Land diving" involves young men jumping from tall wooden towers with vines tied to their ankles, a dangerous feat that tests their bravery.

Australian Aboriginal Cultures:

"Walkabout" is a traditional journey where young men venture into the wilderness for extended periods, learning survival skills and cultural knowledge.

Various African Cultures:

Circumcision rituals are common, symbolizing the transition from boyhood to manhood.

There are also many cultures that have rituals that include periods of isolation, where the young men are taught the traditional laws, and history of their people.

Jewish Culture:

The Bar Mitzvah, at age 13, marks a young man's religious coming-of-age, signifying his responsibility to observe Jewish law.

These rituals often involve:

Physical endurance: Tests of strength, pain tolerance, and survival skills.

Spiritual or ceremonial elements: Rituals that connect the individual to their cultural heritage and beliefs.

Community recognition: Public ceremonies that acknowledge the young man's new status within the group.

Instruction and knowledge transfer: Older men imparting essential skills and cultural wisdom to the initiates.

It's important to approach these cultural practices with respect and understanding, recognizing their significance within their respective communities.

What are my three marks of a man in todays world? Here are the three I think are relevant for your society.

Save your virginity until marriage

Serve others as a lifestyle

Evangelize the lost - tell others about Jesus

Why these three?

They do three things…

Evangelism: It challenges you to learn. You must learn scripture, learn how to read people. Learn how to share the gospel with differing people, belief systems and environments. Learn how to answer questions that have a biblical backing, loving in nature and make God look good. And how to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Servanthood. It challenges you to live outside your world and the worlds view (its all about me - its all about what my eyes want, my soul wants, my appetites want, what my pride wants… servanthood crushes that)

One should monthly - and honestly more than once a month… but you should be serving in a capacity where you help others less fortunate than you. There are dozens of areas… food pantry, boys club, Prison ministry, Tutor kids, babysit for single parents, visit a nursing home, Go hand out sandwiches to the homeless, help your church in some serving role, houses for humanity, work at a pet shelter… And part of serving is giving your money and not just your time.

They challenge you to learn discipline and reliance on the Holy Spirit to tame your most powerful, lustful and fleshly desires. If you can’t tame your sex drive you will never fully be able to serve God with all your heart. It is the proving ground of truly wanting to be a man of God - more than evangelism and servanthood. If a girl/woman wants to marry a Christian man and he cannot handle is sex drive than he is simply confessing through his actions that his fleshly desires are more important than God and his word.

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By Garth Heckman

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