It is sometimes easy to see what God has placed in us men, we only have to look at our boys. When they get the opportunity to spend time out side, they often find a stick or something else to play war with it. It becomes a sward or a gun or something else dangerous, or as the picture above, my boys jumping from a cliff. But what often happens is that we parents tell them off, not to do it, because we in a way want to protect them.
As fathers, we knew that we should protect and provide. But we protected our kids from everything and we provided too many options sometimes. God have given us men a fierce heart, let us not tame it, but let us use it for the good. We men and dads need to train our boys to become men, fierce men of God.
Last year at my sister in laws wedding Oliver got asked by a older Gentleman how old he was he replied I am thirteen, well said the Gentleman you are an apprentice of becoming a man, and Oliver smiled.
We need to ask ourself how do we actually lead our boys to become men?
I have done many wrong chooses when it comes to my own boys, but it is never to late to turn around, and I am going to!
I Believe that we pad to many corners on the tables. When they fell, we rush to catch them. If they look like they might hurt themselves, we were there with safety nets. We don’t let them fail and understand that it is normal and necessary. Now many of them are struggling to make decisions and don’t know how to fail. They back away from risk.
The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked. Prov 24:16
I also believe that when we are trying to protect them, we shielded them from pain. Not understanding that pain is normal, we take away something from them that they need to grow. We are trying to be their buddies and friends, we loved them but we are afraid to teach them discipline, to afraid to actually be their dad.
Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
The irony is that despite our best efforts, we can’t shield them from pain. They need the pain of natural consequences. When you touch a stove, you get burned. But then they never touch it again.
Instead of responsibility, we give them options. They many times expect something for nothing. We are trying to give them trophies just for participating. We don’t teach them how to commit to a thing and stick it out..
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Romans 5:3-4
So it is time for us men and dads to let our sons fall, fail and be given responsibilities, time for us dad to come together and encourage one another to become Godly men and dads so we can guide our children in the best way.
And for you who, as I do, also have daughters, we need to treat them like Princesses, like Princesses of Heaven.
Tell your boys that they are fierce Lions and God made them to become fierce men and to your daughters, how beautiful they are and how precious they are. If you don’t tell them who they are someone else will.