After helping a friend move last Saturday I sat down at 3Margaritas for dinner. I love Mexican and Tex-Mex food, and proudly ordered the Macho Burrito, asking my server only one question: "Does that come with a side of toxic masculinity?" For those who haven't heard, the term "toxic masculinity" started in America's most liberal college campuses and has become a topic for pundits on all the cable news shows. It is defined as a sharp focus on the pattern of bad behavior men exhibit, but it also is used as an excuse for feminists and others to criticize masculinity in general.

Any time a new term is coined and pushed to the top of the news cycle one has to wonder, "what is the purpose?" If it were about teaching guys to respect others, that bullying is ugly, that being dismissive of anyone (women or otherwise) is unkind and other such positive messages as claimed it wouldn't make headlines. Most people see beyond the transparent veil to the real purpose, to continue to drive the wedge of hostility between the sexes. Those behind this movement may not want a border wall, but they are all for building a wall between men and women.

While the terminology may be new, the idea isn't. Back in 1992 a book was published with a very similar purpose, though it promoted division with far more polite language. That book, Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus was pushed by the mainstream media as a breakthrough publication. It is still trying to make an impact moving from the page to the stage. One can purchase tickets to the show which runs through March 1. The book was released during my last year of college and I called it out for what it was, an attempt to turn the Biblical model of male-female relationships into a divisive direction. "Men are not from Mars, and women are not form Venus," I stated in a campus publication. "They are both from earth and they are both dirty, rotten sinners who need God's love and forgiveness."

I'm not saying everything men do is right and acceptable or that there isn't room for improvement in all our lives. I'm saying that at the most basic level, there is no toxicity between men and women. God created them together, for each other, to cleave together in a life-long covenant relationship. What the "toxic masculinity" crowd is really identifying is sin. They wont call it that, of course, because the "s" word leads people to thinking about Jesus and that is counter to their purpose. Even so, the play that toxic masculinity is getting provides an opening for believers.

In discussions on campuses, at work places, and on social media Jesus-followers can use the topic to bridge between the intended purpose, to divide men and women, to a discussion about sin and everyone's need for a savior. We can promote marriage and heterosexual relationships. We can even show our concern and empathy by agreeing with them that bullying and wolf whistles are more than inappropriate behavior, the are evidence of the brokenness of all humanity.