Every stage of your life as a man has its own strength and its own struggle. Choose your age. You see what is happening in your body (only established facts, with sources), what the Bible says about that stage, and one question to take with you.
18 to 30
Strength and choices
Your body: Your testosterone is at its highest in these years. Physical aggression in men also peaks between twenty and thirty. In the Netherlands, suicide is the leading cause of death under 30.
Source: Travison et al., Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (2017); Archer, Review of General Psychology (2004); Statistics Netherlands (2025)
The Bible: John writes to the young men: you are strong, God's word lives in you and you have overcome the evil one. Strength is a gift here, linked to God's word.
Watch out for: Strength is not proof of who you are. Choose friends who keep you sharp, and look for an older man to walk alongside you.
What are you using your strength for?
1 John 2:14, Ecclesiastes 11:9 to 12:1, Proverbs 27:17
30 to 40
Carrying
Your body: Your muscle mass stays fairly stable, but relative to your weight it is already declining, mainly because fat increases. Sleep counts: in a small study, young men's testosterone fell by 10 to 15 percent after a week of less than five hours of sleep a night. If you become a father, your testosterone drops too, and that is normal.
Source: Janssen et al., Journal of Applied Physiology (2000); Leproult and Van Cauter, JAMA (2011); Gettler et al., PNAS (2011)
The Bible: Psalm 127 says it is pointless to rise early and stay up late if the Lord does not build the house. He grants sleep to those he loves.
Watch out for: Work, family, church and friends all pull at the same time. Watch what you drop when things get busy, and who notices.
What do you drop when things get busy, and is that the right choice?
Psalm 127:1-2, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
40 to 50
Halfway
Your body: From forty onwards, your testosterone declines within your own body by about 1.6 percent a year on average. Towards the end of your forties your muscle mass also starts to decline noticeably, especially in your legs. It happens gradually: men have no sudden transition like the menopause.
Source: Massachusetts Male Aging Study (2002); Janssen et al., Journal of Applied Physiology (2000)
The Bible: About the fathers John writes exactly the same thing twice: you know Him who is from the beginning. In the middle of your life it is less about what you do, and more about whom you know.
Watch out for: The question "was this it?" comes up for many men. That is not failure, but an invitation to choose again what matters.
What do you want people to say about you in twenty years?
1 John 2:13-14, Psalm 90:12
50 to 65
Passing on
Your body: In many men the prostate grows larger, and prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Dutch men. This also belongs to the facts: more than a third of all suicides in the Netherlands fall between the ages of 50 and 70, and the rate is highest among men in their sixties.
Source: IKNL, Netherlands Cancer Registry; Statistics Netherlands (2025)
The Bible: The poet of Psalm 71 prays: do not leave me when I am old and grey, until I have told your strength to the next generation.
Watch out for: From leading to walking alongside. Your experience is now worth the most when you share it with a younger man.
Which younger man can you take along with you?
Psalm 71:17-18, Titus 2:2
65 and older
Bearing fruit
Your body: Your muscle strength continues to decline, but exercise and strength training still have an effect. The lower limit of what counts as normal testosterone only drops clearly after eighty.
Source: Travison et al., Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (2017); Janssen et al., Journal of Applied Physiology (2000)
The Bible: Caleb was 85 when he said: give me this hill country. And Psalm 92 says that those planted with God still bear fruit in old age.
Watch out for: Bless, tell and pray. Your grandchildren and the young people around you need your stories about God.
Which story about God does a child need to hear from you?
Joshua 14:10-12, Psalm 92:12-14, Psalm 78:4
Does this touch something heavy? You don't have to carry it alone. Talk about it with someone you trust, or with your doctor. If you are thinking about suicide, please contact a crisis line in your country (113 or 0800-0113 in the Netherlands). Take a breath