THE PIT: EVERY MAN’S FALL, EVERY MAN’S CLIMB
I didn’t wake up this morning feeling motivated.
I woke up thinking about Romans 7.
That chapter where Paul, one of the strongest men in the Bible, admits he’s at war with himself.
“For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do.”
That hits different when you’re a man rebuilding from the inside out. When you’ve been in the pit.
THE PIT IS REAL
Every man has a pit.
And no, it doesn’t always look like Batman’s in The Dark Knight Rises. Sometimes it looks like a job that’s draining your soul.
Sometimes it’s a marriage that’s lost all respect.
Or an addiction that steals your mornings.
Or just a mind that keeps telling you how worthless you are.
The pit doesn’t just come for the weak.
Sometimes it shows up when you think you’re strong.
When you think you’ve got it all figured out…
That’s when the floor disappears.
Here’s what I learned
I used to think you could avoid the fall.
If you played it safe, kept your head down, showed up to work, didn’t rock the boat
You’d be okay.
But I’ve watched too many men break.
Guys with the job, the pension, the house the cars the girls
On the outside they had “the life”
And still… they felt empty inside.
You can’t avoid the fall.
All you can do is prepare for it
Men
We’re not chasing happiness.
Not really.
We’re chasing a life that feels worth it.
What does that look like?
It’s purpose. Knowing why we’re here.
It’s progress. Feeling stronger, sharper, more disciplined each day.
It’s presence. Being there for our kids, our woman, and ourselves.
It’s respect. From others, sure but from ourselves first.
It’s freedom. Financial, emotional, spiritual.
But nobody tells you the truth:
The fall is necessary.
That’s where the man is forged.
Not on the climb out but in the pit itself.
When everything collapses, when your mind turns against you, when you’re face down in your own mess
that’s when you find out who you really are.
YOU CAN’T CLIMB WITH THE ROPE
In Batman, he only climbed out when he let go of the rope.
Because climbing with the rope meant he was climbing with a safety net.
And no man climbs out of his pit until he’s willing to die trying.
That’s the truth. That’s the calling.
I’m not here to judge anybody.
We all have our shit.
And if you don’t, life’s gonna hand you yours eventually.
Addiction. Divorce. Loss. Betrayal. Depression.
Nobody gets out clean.
I don’t have it all figured out.
I’m not a guru.
I’m not Jordan Peterson, and I’m not Jesus.
But I’m learning from both.
I’m the street version.
A man in the pit, clawing his way out, sharing every scar and every truth along the way.
FOR MY SONS
I know my sons will fall one day.
They have to.
That’s how they’ll learn who they are.
But when they do, I want them to hear my voice:
“I’ve been there.
I fell too.
And I got back up.
So will you.”
You can’t avoid the fall.
But you can rise different.
Because the pit isn’t punishment.
It’s preparation.
And the man isn’t built on the climb out.
The man is built in the pit itself.