The Jackassification of Young Adult Males
So I’m reading the news this morning and I come across the fact that Jackass 3D is the most popular movie in America right now. What this says about American culture as a whole is not really the focus of this post. Rather, I’d like to take a look at the demographic that made this film possible: Male Young Adults. According to exit polling, the audience was 60% male, and 67% under age 25.
Having been one of these for most of my life, I have a heart for these guys. Part of me feels bad for them and the other part of me wants to slap them. The reality for these guys is that the world hasn’t given them anything worth accomplishing or living for. Some will pursue success in academics or the workplace, but many won’t. They see through the lie that success will bring happiness. Unfortunately, these guys still have energy and drive that must work itself out in some manner.
Work
The problem for these dudes is that God made men to do work. In Genesis 2:15 we read that God put man in the garden to work and care for it. Keep in mind that this is all pre-Fall. God has uniquely given men strength, energy, and desire to see things get accomplished. This can be nurtured in men for great effect. Failure to call men to these noble tasks leads to what I will call the jackassification of men.
Patterns of Destruction
The basic premise of Jackass is that 20-30 something dudes with nothing better to do hurt themselves physically or do really disgusting things for the amusement of themselves and others. When dudes aren’t making a life for themselves or doing something constructive, this is usually what their time devolves into. This is especially true for teenagers and college students.
Men who see no higher purpose in their masculinity will invariably become like this in their everyday lives and live as destroyers rather than careful workers. This is in part because it is much easier to destroy than it is to build. When men are not called to the noble task of building they turn towards the thinking of the world that leads them to live lives of destruction. These lives are not islands unto themselves and will invariably bring devastation into the lives of the women and children these men should be cultivating.
Give Them Something to Do
I want to be a man who cares for my own boys as well as the young men who are around me. I want to warn them about the foolishness of jackassification. In Proverbs 5:21-23, it says that “a man’s ways are in full view before the Lord, and He examines all his paths. The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for a lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.”
A man who takes his cues about masculinity from culture will leave a path of devastation where there could have been service, ministry, and family. I’d rather men work carefully to build a life instead of destroying themselves, everything, and everyone around them. God calls men to these noble tasks and so should we.
May we as men be ever “turning [our] ear(s) to wisdom and applying [our] heart(s) to understanding…[so that we] will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God…Thus [we] will walk in the ways of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous.” – Proverbs 2:2,5,20
