Man Tears

If you were to ask me if it’s okay for a man to cry, I’d say, “It depends on what kind of man you are.”

Just like there are different kinds of fish in the river, there are different kinds of men on the earth. Take my daddy, for instance. He’s a numbers kind of man, he couldn’t care less about style or fashion, and he doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve. Because of that, I haven’t seen him shed too many tears.

But my mama’s daddy? Now he was pretty emotional. In fact, he was what you’d call a romantic. I saw him shed a lot of tears.

Then take me. For whatever reason, I’m more artsy, creative, and very sensitive to my emotions and those of others around me. You might call me a romantic too. I’ve never been ashamed of shedding a tear. I see it as just another way of expressing emotion, of being human.

Jesus had a trusted friend named Lazarus who got sick and died. If you know anything about that story, you know that Jesus called His friend out of the grave and resurrected him from the dead. It was truly a miracle.

But if you jump to the miracle too fast, as we sometimes have a tendency to do, you miss the tears Jesus shed at the tomb. I’m sure those tears represent a number of emotions that were going on inside Jesus. But at the very least, those tears expressed His unashamed humanity.

I don’t know if Jesus felt He had to cry at the tomb of His good friend, but I do know He didn’t stop Himself.

So if shedding tears is okay by Jesus, then it’s okay by me.

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Your Turn

What’s your take? Do you think it’s ok to see men cry? If so, what makes you shed man tears, guys?