It’s a curious expression. I was brought up on the King James Version and I remember giggling to myself whenever the old and venerable preacher would read it.
I would have gotten the tar knocked out of me if I said it. But if it is in the King James, it must be godly, right?
As I got older, I realized that there wasn’t any other English translation that uses that phrase.
Then when I studied Hebrew, I realized that the King James literally translates the Hebrew there. The Word of God does indeed say, “Every man that pisses against the wall.”
I started thinking about this a week or so back. Someone shared a clip of a southern preacher bemoaning the “lack of real men”. He said that the problem in America is that men pee sitting down, unlike what the Bible says. The Bible says that real men piss against the wall.
He was serious, by the way, and there are more problems with that exegesis than can be mentioned in this blog.
But it illustrates a serious problem in the way that the modern bearded dude-bro thinks. There is a worship of manly men. An obsession with authority. A lust for manly power. Pulpits mostly focus on men being men, and many careers have been made with the shaming of “effeminate men” who pee sitting down, and manly men who piss against the wall like men are supposed to.
You all know who I am talking about. A sermon shaming effeminate men and extolling manly men will go viral, if done well. And the manly man is equated with godliness, strength, courage, and power.
The horrible sermon about “pissing against the wall” was simply pandering to the spirit of the evangelical age of Trump, I’m afraid.
But here is the problem.
“Pisseth against the wall” is used 6 times in the Old Testament – all of them in the Age of the Kings.
And each time it is used, it is used as a promise of destruction.
David said that if Abigail hadn’t intervened, not one of Nabal’s men would have been left alive. All who pisseth against the wall would have been destroyed.
And then the curse on the house of Ahab – not one of Ahab would be left. Not one who “pisseth against the wall”.
If you think about it, the preacher was right about one thing. The man who “pisseth against the wall” is the manly man. He is outside the city, protecting the perimeter. He is with the soldiers. He isn’t inside on the couches and with the women. He is outside, pissing against the wall of the city, or the fortress, or the tower.
He is Nimrod, the mighty hunter. Esau, the hairy man of the field.
He is the mighty men of David. The soldiers.
And every time they are mentioned in the scripture, the term is used as a mark of contempt. You mighty men who piss against the wall, so proud of your manly strength. Not one of you will be left when the Lord finished his work.
Your armies can’t protect you. Your strength can’t protect you. Your authority and power can’t protect you.
A careful reading of the prophets shows a very important theme: Woe to all who put their trust in armies, strength, weapons, horses – or in the modern age – guns, tanks, politics, police, armies, patriarchs, men who pee standing up.
This is not where the kingdom of God is. Never has been. Never will be.
Where you find the spirit of God is where you find love and joy, peace and longsuffering.
I mourn when I see the established church lust after war and death. I hate seeing the people of God crying out for blood.
That is not what Christianity is. The kingdom is not advanced by armies and death and destruction.
God takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
Like any other gift, the gift of strength can and has been used for God’s glory. God uses men of war for many different reasons, and many honorable men and women have served in the armed forces. That isn’t what this is about.
What this is about is trust. The problem with the “manly man” theology in the pews is that it drives the soul from Christ.
It makes us think that with strong resolve and will power, with strength and determination, we can overcome any obstacles and defeat any enemy.
And the bible calls this “pride”. We think that sin is something that can be overcome by strength of will. We think that the armies of evil can be destroyed by manliness and courage. We think that the problem in the country are those “other people”. When I was a kid, it was the hippies. Now, apparently, it is people who pee sitting down. How he got that information is beyond my imagination. But it all boils down to pride. And God hates it.
God resists the proud.
But he gives strength to the humble. The humble one, in Biblical thought, is the one who is afflicted, without any resources, without any strength, without any hope.’ In the ancient Hebrew, the word for “humble” can also be translated, oppressed, afflicted, crushed, poor, or desperate.
It is the opposite of the one receiving a major award and saying “I’m so humbled by this award….”
Rather, it is the one with leprosy, cast out of the city without a cure.
It is the one who is destitute, begging for scraps at the temple.
It is the woman who reaches out to touch the hem of the garment.
It is the child stripped and dragged away as a captive.
It is the old man crushed under the wagon wheels.
It is the blind beggar that is shouting, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
It is the rich ruler whose dearly loved daughter is about to die. He is destitute and his money and position can do nothing.
In other words, the one that God resists is the one who boastfully pisseth against the wall, spits on the ground, says to himself “At least I don’t pee sitting down”.
That has nothing to do with Christ. He didn’t come for those who have strength. When we were without strength, Christ died for the ungodly.
Those who pee sitting down because their legs don’t work.
The one who is so overcome with his sin and misery that he can only cry out, “Lord have mercy”.
Remember the cry of the desperate? “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
This is the gospel. The church was called to give that message. To teach who Jesus is so that the desperate know who to call out to.
Whosoever calls on the name of Jesus will be saved.
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My Only Comfort 
Shaking my head. To think that ‘s what *preaching* has come to in some circles.
Sam, your Bible study on the subject was very enlightening. I need to read it a few times to absorb those truths. Thank you.
A couple thoughts.
1. Anderson’s sermon about pissing against the wall has nothing to do with Trump. It’s from 14 years ago, during the Obama presidency. I have no idea why you would mention Trump. Maybe he’s unpopular in your corner of the world. It seems impertinent.
2. Is your point that it’s bad to tell men to be manly? That’s what I understood. Yet, Paul says,
“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” (1 Cor. 16:13)
The bible teaches it is virtuous for a man to be manly, as opposed to being weak, cowardly, and effeminate. According to Scripture, cowards (“the fearful”) and effeminate men will go to hell.
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (Rev. 21:8)
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind…” (1 Cor. 6:9)
It would seem to me, then, that manliness is one of the chief virtues the church should be inculcating, and effeminacy and cowardice are two of the chief vices it must rebuke.
The first two passages that you quote refer to men and women and have to do with clinging to Christ.
The word Effeminate is a poor translation of a word that has to do with greco Roman homosexuality as it was practiced at the time and literally nothing to do with cultural definitions of masculinity.
The greatest courage that anyone can exercise is following Jesus in taking the lowest place of all.
Thanks for the comment
And one other point… The whole duty of mankind is summarized in the ten commandments, which is further summarized by love.
Love and taking the form of the slave with no power or rights is the most courageous thing of all. For both men and women
I’m curious to know the correct answer to Charles Johnson’s first point. That you were incorrect in inserting Trump’s name into the time frame that this sermon about “men who piss against a wall” took place. Did it in fact take place when Obama was President? Before Trump was even on the scene or radar of politics?
If so, could you please acknowledge that falsehood? It does appear that you despise Trump and insert his name whenever you can in a negative manner.
Not all of your readers are “woke” or have Trump Derangement Syndrome.
I’ve read your blogs for years and seek to get “My Only Comfort”-type messages. Focused on how ONLY Jesus is our hope and comfort.
I don’t like the more radical political bent that many posts have taken.
Can we keep politics out of the posts that are supposed to encourage people? There is some palpable hate coming through. It’s not edifying. I understand if you are upset with my response. But I have been upset by many of your comments and felt I needed to at least mention them.
You’ve been a great help to me in the past. When your posts weren’t politically biased. And I appreciate those times and thank you for them.
God bless.
I know you have followed me for a long time, and I appreciate it. I also appreciate your comment, and understand,
From my perspective, Trump isn’t just politics. He has destroyed the church. It might be true that the “pisseth against the wall” sermon was before Trump’s time, but that way of thinking was fringe. Now it is mainstream. Since the rise of Trumpism, the church has turned into a bully pulpit, profanity is acceptable, bullying and hate speech is the norm, insulting and mocking are everywhere, and “effeminacy” is ridiculed.
And true, it isn’t Trump’s fault. He is just the symptom.
The rise of Driscoll, Wilson, nationalism, simply reached its peak in Trump.
Trump and his followers destroyed the church that I loved in favor of politics. And elder told me that I needed to start church discipline on “liberals”. The hatred that was directed at me and my family over disagreeing with Donald Trump is not easy for me to get over.
But I see your point, and will tone it down.
You are right. The purpose of this is to give peace and comfort. I will try to be less polemical in the future.
Thanks for the comment.
Sam,
I so appreciate your gentlemanly response to my comment. I have and still respect you. Your replies to me when I needed comfort for my deeply wounded heart were a balm to my soul. I just disliked seeing politics enter into that sacred space. I try not to watch the news or go onto social media as I get triggered by the heavy conflict and hatred spewed. The divisiveness. I don’t want to read about it on Christian blogs! But it’s YOUR blog and your prerogative to post what you feel is right and demonstrative of Jesus. Thanks for your agreeing to tone it down! I understand you have been wounded too. And I hate that you have. I look forward to your less political posts in the future. Thank you.
You are much appreciated 😊
Hi, Sam.
I found this to be very helpful.
Z, some times Sam writes things others may need to hear, in the way he states them.
This one was written in a way that I needed it written…
There is so much written about masculinity that is not at all biblical. And Sam has a way of bringing ‘clarity to error’.
Men are being told all the things Sam writes about, describing both what is being taught, and why these things are false.
This is a post to men, first, to counter these falsehoods.
I hear where you are coming from.
His post wasn’t about politics. It’s written to men, and it mentions a man who is talked about every day in a presidential election year, who is actually touted as a messianic representative by men who are christian, who I respected until they said what they’ve said, ignoring the passages Sam mentions here, and many more.
Error needs to be described as error. Paul’s letter to Timothy is about the danger of error, correcting error, and being truthful, faithful and loving in what one teaches! After describing himself, Paul launches into warnings that name several false teachers; he pauses, interjects a verse about HIS goal in teaching love ‘from a pure heart, clean conscience and sincere faith’ and then immediately gives another strong warning.
The reality is as you state it: there is so much hatred being spewed on every media, that we cannot listen to any of it without hearing it. We can’t avoid this reality, unless we withdraw from the world. so how do we deal with it, and fulfill our calling to be ‘ambassadors of reconciliation’ in a world that God tells us is hostile to HIM?
Sam has gone through the very harsh experience of being reviled by brothers…
I’ve experienced that; more than once. And I wonder ‘what is wrong with me’-‘what did I do to merit this’.
I woke from a dream this morning, that essentially left me asking that question to God-about one of many experiences I’ve had, where I was once in ‘community’ but then became disenfranchised.
I seriously thought through that time period in my life; facing the question honestly; and realizing ‘it wan’t ME’-and I know where the problem lay; spoke to it; was acknowledged and the problem ratified; but the real problem was ignored.
In our world, the problems are going to be ignored. Yet we need to face them, acknowledge them, and trust God that we can fulfill the role He has called us to be-as ‘ambassadors of JESUS’, seeking to speak a mesage of HOPE and RECONCILIATION with God.
Sam’s post reassures me and reinforces what God’s Spirit was bringing to my mind, to think about, as I woke, this morning.
the church today doesn’t seem to be very concerned about the hurting in our world. but Jesus came for the hurting; the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed… and the gospel is for US; and for us to take to others who are struggling.
I needed to hear, in the way Sam wrote, what he wrote today…
I really did…
To Moderator;
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div dir=”ltr”>My reply to Bill Everson’s message to me about this post appears unab
I keep getting partial words and a lot of punctuation marks. I’m not sure what is going on.
Try to email me and I’ll try to post it from there