Seven Virtues of Manhood to Become the Man and Father You Were Meant to Be

June 16, 2017

WRITER

Somewhere along the way, our culture lost its definition of manhood, leaving generations of men and men-to-be confused about their roles, responsibilities, relationships and the reason God made them men. New York Times bestselling author Mark Batterson joined Glenn on radio Friday to talk about his new book Play the Man: Becoming the Man God Created You to Be.

"This one is a really interesting book . . . I have been looking for books over the last few years because I want to build a library about how you build a man. What does it mean to be a man? Because nothing in our culture is supporting that now," Glenn said.

Batterson's Play the Man helps men understand what it means to be a man of God by unveiling seven virtues of manhood with inspiring stories of manhood. Help start a movement of men who will settle for nothing less than fulfilling their highest calling: To be the man and the father God has destined them to be. Play the Man is available in bookstores everywhere.

The seven virtues include:

1. Tough love

2. Childlike wonder

3. Willpower

4. Raw passion

5. True grit

6. Clear vision

7. Moral courage

Read the transcript or listen to the segment below to get Glenn and Batterson's thoughtful discussion on several of the virtues.

Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program:

GLENN: It is Father's Day weekend. And speaking of Amazon, a book you can pick up on Amazon.com right now is Play the Man. Mark is a friend of the program. Been on several times. He is the author of 16 different books. This one is a really interesting book because we have nothing, and I have been looking for books over the last few years of I want to build a library of how do you build a man? What does it mean to be a man? Because nothing in our culture is supporting that now. Mark, welcome to the program.

MARK: Hey, Glenn, it's good to be to be back.

GLENN: So the comes from the Bible the Romans took because he was worshiping Jesus. Can you tell the story?

MARK: Yeah. Incredible true story about Polycarp, he was the bishop of Smyrna, and he was taken into the coliseum, told to recant his faith, and he wouldn't do it. And part of why he wouldn't do it because he heard a voice from heaven saying be strong, Polycarp, play the man. And when I first heard that, Glenn, it gave me goosebumps because here was a guy who was martyred for his faith, and it's that little saying play the man that, you know, he died for his faith. The question is how do we live for our faith? What does it mean to play the man?

GLENN: That's what I was going to ask you. Play the man is weird advice. What does it mean?

MARK: Well, there's a verse in second Samuel that says play the man for our people. And Glenn, we share a love for history with so I tell a lot of stories about everybody from Teddy Roosevelt to a guy named John Wesley Powell. But really, it's about seven virtues that I think are the key to manhood, and that's the first part of the book. From to have love to moral courage, things that are lacking in our culture.

GLENN: So let's go through some of the virtues. Give them -- just go through all of them quickly first. Tough love, childlike wonder, willpower, raw passion, true grit, clear vision, and moral courage.

Let me start with true grit because you see that in a -- you see that in, you know, the movie true grit, and you identify it as that. As being that guy. A guy who saw something that wasn't right, wasn't necessarily a guy who was living a great life, but followed through and finished what he knew was right. Is that what true grit is?

>> I think it is. And let me just say this. I think different cultures at different points of history have defined manhood differently. And what I do is go back to a person by the name of Jesus. Son of Man. And I think he's true worth when it comes to manhood. No one models true grit better than he does. He endured the cross. I mean, that's -- that's grit right there. And then you read in another place in the New Testament where it says having done all the stand. It's this idea that it's going to take some grit to do the right thing. And I think we give up too easily. We give up too quickly, and I think part of what I advocate for the book is you've got to fight for your family and your marriage. It's not going to be easy. But grit is something exemplified by Jesus, and it is something we are called to as men.

GLENN: What is the biggest lie that our boys are being told?

MARK: That's a big question, and I'm not sure I can reduce it down to one. But I'll start here. The first virtue is tough love. Tough love is carrying a 300-pound cross 650 yards down for someone else's sin. I think we forgot what it means to exercise tough love. I think it's loving people when they least expect it and least deserve it. And it's not easy. But that's the standard we're called to. And in something that I think is -- in some ways because in our culture, Glenn, manhood is almost avoided or devalued or in some ways redefined. And so I think we've got to get back to some of these virtues that we see in the person of Jesus and we need to live out as men.

GLENN: So what is the difference between these virtues with women and why is this play the man? Shouldn't my wife have clear vision and moral courage and willpower and child like wonder?

MARK: Absolutely. And I make that admission in the book that, listen, I think these apply to anybody and everybody. But this is a call to men. Let me give you an example. A few months ago I was in a room with 500 guys, and I asked them how many of you were intentionally discipled by your did ad? And three hands go up. So what we have is a culture of men don't know what it means to be men of god and fathers don't know what it means to be a spiritual father. So what I'm going to do with the book, Glenn, is step into that no-man's-land pun intended and say here are seven virtues that I think we can work on as men. And then of course the second half of the book is really the heartbeat of the book, and it's about how to disciple our children.

GLENN: The name of the book is creating the man God created you to be. 16 best-selling books and a message that I think we truly, truly need. Play the man. Thanks, mark, for being on the program with us.

MARK: , hey, absolute joy and privilege. God bless, Glenn.

GLENN: God bless. We'll talk to you again.

Glenn: We MUST change our ways before we DESTROY ourselves

What happened to Europe?

Once upon a time, America and Europe fought side-by-side to overthrow authoritarian regimes and resist communist dictators. Now European leaders are adopting the policies Europeans once fought against—and calling AMERICA out for "abandoning liberal democracy." But as Europeans get arrested for their speech, their elections rigged, and their religion squashed, Glenn felt compelled to notify their leaders of the truth: America didn't abandon democracy, Europe abandoned its people.

With this in mind, over the weekend Glenn authored an open letter to the leaders of Europe, calling them to return to the core values of Western democracy that we fought so hard for and to listen to the voices of their citizens who cry out for change. Glenn encouraged his audience to read his letter and spread the word:

pic.twitter.com/176M6uYRbB
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) February 23, 2025

Glenn took to X to get as many eyes on his letter as possible. He also filmed a short video in his home stressing the importance of Europe's awakening. America cannot afford to prop up NATO anymore and Europe needs to be ready to hold its weight. Big changes are coming and for the sake of the Western values we have fought so long to preserve, we want Europe by our side, ready to face the future. We must change our ways before we tear ourselves apart.

An urgent message to Europe’s leaders: Return to the people’s voice. pic.twitter.com/ecI43zSnj5
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) February 23, 2025

Trump's education secretary has BIG plans for the DoE

SAUL LOEB / Contributor | Getty Images

Our education system is broken, and the Department of Education is a massive failure. But that all ends now.

It's no secret that America's school system is seriously lacking in many ways. President Trump pointed out that despite our massive spending per pupil, we are behind most of the developed world in most metrics. Our scores continue to plummet while our student debt and spending skyrocket—it's utterly unacceptable performance and America's students deserve better.

That's where Linda McMahon, Trump's pick for Secretary of Education comes in.

The former WWE CEO and leader of the U.S. Small Business Administration during Trump's first term, McMahon laid out her harsh criticisms of the DoE during a confirmation hearing on the 13th and revealed her promising plans to turn things around. McMahon described the public education system as "in decline" and promised that under her authority, the DoE would be reoriented towards student success.

Here are the top three changes to the Department of Education:

1. Dismantling the Department of Education

SAUL LOEB / Contributor | Getty Images

From the beginning Trump's orders for McMahon were clear: oversee the end of the Department of Education.

During her Thursday hearing, McMahon clarified what dismantling the DoE would entail. As Democrats have repeatedly pointed out, Trump does not have the authority to destroy the DoE without Congressional consent, as an act of Congress created it. That is why Trump and McMahon's plan is to start by shutting down programs that can be stopped by executive action, then approach Congress with a plan to dismantle the Department for good. The executive orders have already begun to take effect, and once McMahon is confirmed she will author a plan for Congress to close the Department.

McMahon also promised that the end of the Department of Education does not mean an end to all the programs currently undertaken by the doomed department. Programs that are deemed beneficial will be transferred (along with their funding) to departments that are more suited to the task. The example given by McMahon was IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) funding, which instead of being cut would be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services.

2. School Choice

Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc / Contributor | Getty Images

In a huge win for parents across the country, McMahon pledged her support for School Choice. School Choice is the idea of allowing parents to enroll their student in any school of their choice, including religious schools and private schools. It would also mean that part or all of the funding that would have gone to a relocated child would follow them and continue to pay for their education.

This gives parents the ability to remove their children from failing schools and seek a better education for them elsewhere. A growing body of evidence suggests that the way we run our schools isn't working, and it is time to try something new. School Choice opens up education to the free market and will allow for competition.

Our children deserve better than what we can currently offer them.

3. COVID and DEI

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Trump's government-wide crackdown on DEI will ironically serve to increase inclusion in many American schools.

McMahon said as much during her Senate hearing: “It was put in place ostensibly for more diversity, for equity and inclusion. And I think what we’re seeing is, it is having an opposite effect. We are getting back to more segregating of our schools instead of having more inclusion in our schools.” She also spoke in support of Title IX, and the push to remove biological males from women's and girl's sports. In the same vein, McMahon pledged to push back against the rise of antisemitism on college campuses, which many Universities have failed to adequately address.

On Friday, February 14th, President Trump signed an executive order barring any school or university with COVID-19 vaccine mandates from receiving federal money. This only applies to the COVID-19 vaccine, and other vaccine mandates are still standing.

POLL: What DARK government secrets will Trump uncover?

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Will the dark secrets of the Deep State finally see the light of day? Or will they slip back into darkness, as they have many times before?

The Trump administration is gearing up to fulfill one of Trump's most anticipated campaign promises: to make the contents of the JFK files, along with other Deep State secrets, available to the public. Kash Patel, who has promised to publicize the highly anticipated files, is expected to be confirmed next week as Trump's director of the FBI. Moreover, the House Oversight Committee created a new task force headed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna called "Task Force on Declassification of Federal Secrets," which is tasked with investigating and declassifying information on the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations, UFOs, the Epstein list, COVID's origins, and 9/11. This all comes after the FBI found 2,400 "new" records relating to the assassination of President Kennedy following Trump's executive order to release the files.

Glenn discussed this topic with the cast of the Patrick Bet David podcast. Glenn expressed his confidence in Trump's radical transparency—on the condition that Kash Patel is confirmed. The cast was not as optimistic, expressing some doubt about whether Trump will actually unveil all that he has promised. But what do you think? What files are likely to see the light of day? And what files will continue to linger in the dark? Let us know in the poll below

Do you think the JFK, RFK, and MLK files will be unveiled?

Do you think the 9/11 files will be unveiled?

Do you think the COVID files will be unveiled?

Do you think the UFO files will be unveiled?

Do you think the Epstein list will be unveiled?

Transgender opera in Colombia? 10 SHOCKING ways USAID spent your tax dollars.

MANDEL NGAN / Contributor | Getty Images

The government has been doing what with our tax money!?

Under the determined eye of Elon Musk, DOGE has rooted out the corruption that permeates USAID, and it turns out that it's worse than we thought. Glenn recently read a list of atrocious causes that were funded by USAID, and the list was as long as it was shocking.

Since the January consumer index report was published today, one thing is clear: eggs are bearing the brunt of inflation. That's why we illustrated the extent of USAID's wasteful spending of YOUR taxpayer dollars by comparing it to the price of eggs. How many eggs could the American people have bought with their tax dollars that were given to a "transgender opera" in Colombia or indoctrinating Sri Lankans with woke gender ideology? The truth will shock you:

1. A “transgender opera” in Colombia

USAID spent $47,000 on a transgender opera in Colombia. That's over 135,000 eggs.

2. Sex changes and "LGBT activism" in Guatemala

$2 million was spent funding sex changes along with whatever "LGBT activism" means. That equates to over 5.7 million eggs!

3. Teaching Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid binary-gendered language

USAID forked over $7.9 million to combat the "gender binary" in Sri Lankan journalism. That could have bought nearly 23 million eggs.

4. Tourism in Egypt

$6 million (or just over 17 million eggs) was spent to fund tourism in Egypt. If only someone had thought to build some impressive landmarks...

5. A new "Sesame Street" show in Iraq

USAID spent $20 million to create a new Sesame Street show in Iraq. That's just short of 58 million eggs...

6. Helping the BBC value the diversity of Libyan society

$2.1 million was sent to the BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation) to help them value the diversity of Libyan society (whatever that means). That could have bought over 6 million eggs.

7. Meals for a terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda

$10 million worth of USAID-funded meals went to an Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group. That comes up to be just shy of 29 million eggs.

8. Promoting inclusion in Vietnam

A combined $19.3 million was sent to two separate inclusion groups in Vietnam inclusion groups in Vietnam (why where they separated? Not very inclusive of them). That's over 55 million eggs.

9. Promoting DEI in Serbia's workplaces

USAID sent $1.5 million (4.3 million eggs) to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”

10. Funding EcoHealth Alliance, tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology's "bat research"

EcoHealth Alliance, one of the key NGOs that funded the Wuhan lab's bat virus research, received $5 million from USAID, which is equivalent to 14.5 million eggs.

The bottom line...

So, how much damage was done?

In total, approximately $73.8 million was wasted on the items on this list. That comes out to be 213 million eggs. Keep in mind that these are just the items on this list, there are many, many more that DOGE has uncovered and will uncover in the coming days. Case in point: that's a lot of eggs.

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