Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Man Hungry
Passed Thru Fire's 5th chapter is about the fact that all boys hunger for manhood affirming older men. Only men can draw out manhood from a boy, which was normal part of all societies but lost as industrialization separated the men from their families.
But gangs of today show that the need for this affirmation has not been "evolved" out of the boys but instead the boys have tried to take it into their own hands apart from guidance of the older and wiser men and they have ended up with older boys trying to "train" the younger boys with all too much emphasis on violence.
What hit me the most, though, is the quote:
Another thought is what happens if I die? Where will my sons learn manhood if I die from accident, etc.? Without a structure in place for raising all kinds of boys into men, for helping the fatherless, for a fellowship of men beyond just dad and his sons, my sons would be rudderless.
If you have a written will and (various) life insurance, do you have a manhood plan for your sons? At least a manhood vision for them to be guided by their future guardians, if you die?
But gangs of today show that the need for this affirmation has not been "evolved" out of the boys but instead the boys have tried to take it into their own hands apart from guidance of the older and wiser men and they have ended up with older boys trying to "train" the younger boys with all too much emphasis on violence.
What hit me the most, though, is the quote:
Ironically, while our Christian communities have seemed to notice the plight of the homeless and, in our hospital mode, have created recovery programs for every kind of abuse imaginable, we've done virtually nothing about the empty and hungry young boys we step around each Sunday at church. We have forgotten our biblical mandate to care for the fatherless.Ouch. Reminds me of my time helping out the children's ministry and there were always one or two out of control boys either fatherless or possibly disengaged fathers -- and I was busy trying to supress them rather than figuring out how to redirect their energies. But it's these boys who need father figures to guide them beyond just one hour per week.
Another thought is what happens if I die? Where will my sons learn manhood if I die from accident, etc.? Without a structure in place for raising all kinds of boys into men, for helping the fatherless, for a fellowship of men beyond just dad and his sons, my sons would be rudderless.
If you have a written will and (various) life insurance, do you have a manhood plan for your sons? At least a manhood vision for them to be guided by their future guardians, if you die?
