God requires much of men. Men are called to go, subdue, lead, labor, serve, and sacrifice. Whether they believe it or not, husbands are heads endowed with covenantal responsibility before God for their families (Ephesians 5:23). Work, children, wives, aging parents, churches, and more — God calls men to bear peculiar responsibility in each of these areas. And none are insignificant. By way of success, negligence, or failure, a man’s leadership carries present and eternal consequences.
In short, masculinity demands men to take responsibility and sacrifice for the people and places under their care. This is no small task.
Burden of Atlas
For many men, the weight of such responsibilities can feel overwhelming, like a great stack of burdens poised to crush at any moment. Many who take their duties seriously may feel a kinship to Atlas, the Greek Titan of myth. As Hesiod wrote,
Atlas through hard constraint
