Growing in Grace

A friend loaned me the book "Raising Real Men" by Hal and Melanie Young. It was a really good read; one I did quickly and then read again and took notes on. The premise of the book is how to teach and train boys to use their natural tendencies for God's purpose and glory in their lives. The first chapter includes these words, "Yes, teenage boys can put away a startling amount of groceries. Young boys can be downright destructive. They tend to be noisy at any age. They seem utterly unconcerned with personal hygiene. The dog has a longer attention span for schoolwork. Worse, they seem to come forth at birth with a chip on their shoulder. They are combative, aggressive, arrogant. They seem obsessed with power - whether powerful machines, powerful weapons, or personal power they can exert over people and things. They love to build things but have a perverse delight in tearing them down, and if fire and explosion come into the mix, surely boy-nirvana is close at hand....

Now that we live in a post-Christian culture. . .new issues come to the fore. There is no longer much emphasis on children's spiritual health. . . Religion has given ways to "values," which can be redesigned as needed to conform to popular trends. Without spiritual concern, only the physical remains. As a result, fewer people have the hope of heaven. If you don't believe in life after death, then protecting your own life and the lives of those you love becomes paramount. It is literally all you have. When you have assurance of eternal life in Christ, you know there are more important things than physical existence. -Raising Real Men pp. 50-51; Hal and Melanie Young