As a mother, I've been a woman who mines wisdom about parenting wherever I can find it. I watch for great mothering and take mental notes or ask a bizillion questions.
Many years ago as Micca Campbell and I traveled together, I started picking her brain about raising boys. Micca has a son in his twenties, so she's been there, done that and sports the skid-marked t-shirt. She had lots of great advice about transitioning boys to men. Two that I remember are to teach them to put gas in your car and to compliment them on their widening shoulders and deepening voices. Those may seem funny to remember, but I love those little tips about teaching and building up your boys.
The most important thing that she shared was the last thing that she whispered in her son's ear as he walked out the door for each date...
"Don't forget. God made you to be a protector, not a predator."
That line has been the source of much discussion at our house. Our wonderful God created male and female comprising a beautiful picture of all that He is. Each gender is given specific traits of God, and maleness in all its splendor has "Protector" as one of its God-image gifts.
How our culture has twisted that gift.
Instead of using strength and leadership to show God's glory, so much of the maleness of our culture shows these characteristics in predatorial ways. I think there's no more powerful picture of this truth than the nuclear-bomb-type growth of pornography.
We need to remind our boys that their protector role is given as a gift to the world to show the character of God. The video below is such a beautiful picture of the value of both women and men in God's economy.
Let's challenge our boys to reject "Predator" and embrace "Protector" of "Somebody's Daughter".
Many years ago as Micca Campbell and I traveled together, I started picking her brain about raising boys. Micca has a son in his twenties, so she's been there, done that and sports the skid-marked t-shirt. She had lots of great advice about transitioning boys to men. Two that I remember are to teach them to put gas in your car and to compliment them on their widening shoulders and deepening voices. Those may seem funny to remember, but I love those little tips about teaching and building up your boys.
The most important thing that she shared was the last thing that she whispered in her son's ear as he walked out the door for each date...
"Don't forget. God made you to be a protector, not a predator."
That line has been the source of much discussion at our house. Our wonderful God created male and female comprising a beautiful picture of all that He is. Each gender is given specific traits of God, and maleness in all its splendor has "Protector" as one of its God-image gifts.
How our culture has twisted that gift.
Instead of using strength and leadership to show God's glory, so much of the maleness of our culture shows these characteristics in predatorial ways. I think there's no more powerful picture of this truth than the nuclear-bomb-type growth of pornography.
We need to remind our boys that their protector role is given as a gift to the world to show the character of God. The video below is such a beautiful picture of the value of both women and men in God's economy.
Let's challenge our boys to reject "Predator" and embrace "Protector" of "Somebody's Daughter".
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1 comment:
{Kathy} As the mother of 3 sons and 1 daughter, this post overwhelmed me. I am going to use the "Predator" to "Protector" analogy with my boys as soon as I can. The video is perfect -- so telling of the disassociation between person and body. God bless you for sharing.
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