Driving down the interstate in Oklahoma, a large pickup truck sped past me with a familiar bumper sticker on the back window. It read, “Lions Not Sheep.” The message is simple and straightforward: Live your life like a lion and not a sheep.
The Lions Not Sheep company was founded by Sean Whalen, who describes himself as a multi-million-dollar business owner, father, husband, CEO, and divorcee.
According to his site, “Lions Not Sheep” came to him following a particularly low point in his life. After posting his dark state on social media, he decided to take control of his life.
Whalen says “Lions Not Sheep” is about living life on your own terms, building a powerful mindset, building powerful homes and families, having financial abundance, and living a “bad ass” life.
On the surface, his mantra sounds like most self-help guides. There is something about those three words, however, that does not sit right with me.
Whalen often injects religious language into his marketing strategy, but with little regard to what the Bible actually says about living one’s life as a lion or sheep. While New Testament writers referred to Jesus (Revelation 5:5) and Satan (1 Peter 5:8) as lions, Jesus used “sheep” to describe his followers:
John 10:4, “When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.”
John 10:14, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me.”
John 10:16, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.”
John 21:15-17, “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.’”
Even though the biblical evidence suggests living your life as a sheep rather than a lion seems more in line with the teaching of Jesus, the “Lion Not Sheep” mantra has captured religious conservatives and is currently injecting itself into public policy. (Many might say it never left.)
From the Southern Baptist Convention limiting the role of “senior pastor” to men, to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth requiring male soldiers to get their testosterone levels checked, the injection of toxic masculinity into the church, culture, and public policy is dizzying.
Wilson’s Warriors
In the May issue of The Atlantic, Helen Lewis published an excellent article titled, “The Men Who Don’t Want Women to Vote, Or Work, Or Have Opinion.” Lewis interviewed Doug Wilson, Hegseth’s pastor, about his controversial thoughts on restricting women’s voting rights by moving to a “one family, one vote” policy. Submerged under a deep masculine theology, Wilson argued women will be represented by their husbands as God intended.
Although Wilson told Lewis it was not a top priority and most likely cannot be implemented for a few hundred years, his rhetoric and influence over individuals like Hegseth offer another story. Lewis contends the rise of MAGA has a lot to do with white toxic masculinity (and I might add MAGA’s predecessor, patriarchal theology).
After the first-century church of Jesus faded into the background, the feminine nature of the church faded along with it. The early church, based on the egalitarian examples and teachings of Jesus, gave way to the Imperial Patriarchy of Europe. As the Imperial Patriarchy Church led Western civilization into the Dark Ages, the modern-day Imperial Patriarchy Church could be creating the same outcome.
Hyper-masculinity continues to gain cultural momentum. Building on an already sports-crazed culture, Ultimate Fighting has taken hyper-masculinity to steroid levels overnight. UFC is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, streaming to over one billion households with $7.7 billion in media contracts.
The sport has become so popular among MAGA that President Donald Trump hosted a fight night at the white house. After one match, fighter Josh Hoket called former First Lady Michelle Obama a man to the cheers of the crowd. Vice President J.D. Vance called critics of Hoket’s derogatory remarks “disproportionate” in their reactions.
All of this evidence leads to the conclusion that Margaret Atwood was onto something when she penned “The Handmaid’s Tale” in 1985. Built around hyper-masculinity, Atwood’s fictional Gilead was a totalitarian dictatorship created by the Sons of Jacob, focusing on strict obedience and “traditional” gender roles.
“High T” Policies
Since the latest rise of hyper-masculinity brought about through MAGA, society has seen a resurgence of what can only be described as testosterone-injected policies. From dismantling DEI to overturning Roe v. Wade, white hyper-masculinity is having a day. And, let’s get this straight: The ideology is also fueling the current anti-immigrant, anti-voting rights, and anti-LGBTQ policies as well—not to mention the appetite for war.
While it would be easy for people of good faith to roll their eyes at this latest attempt to inject hyper-masculinity into the culture, we must take this seriously. Not only do we need to denounce such heretical beliefs and counter the toxic-masculinity agenda, but we also need to demonstrate another way.
As a person of faith, my core beliefs center around freedom, equality, and justice. My belief teaches me that humans are created in the image of the divine, possessing a personal conscience and agency that demands liberty of the mind, body and soul.
Equality, then, means everyone deserves the right to live their lives according to their conscience and exist within systems that treat everyone with the same regard. If freedom and equality are respected and practiced, then justice follows, meaning that an ethical standard can be applied across the board regardless of socio-economic or religious positions.
This differs from the testosterone-injected ideology because toxic masculinity demands a patriarchal hierarchy while the counter demands respect for the freedom, equality, and justice of all. Testosterone-injected ideology depends on exclusivity and privilege, while the counter leans on inclusivity and respect for all.
De-Toxifying Culture With God’s Love
As I read and practice my faith, I argue the Bible, especially the teachings of Jesus, subscribes to the counter much more so than the testosterone-injected theology now dismantling the Christian faith and democracy at large.
It’s time to break the needle of testosterone-injected theology and ideology currently infecting faith and culture. Faith and culture need an inoculation of sound theology and thought that remind us that freedom, equality and justice are our foundation.
And, if we really want to end this Neanderthalic moment, we need to be reminded that LOVE, a love knowing no boundaries, surrounds these principles, infusing each with divine grace and compassion that rejects hierarchical boundaries limiting love’s power.
Give me a shot of God’s powerful love over testosterone any day!
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