Raising a Boy to Be a ManSample

Raising a Boy Who Is Prepared for Battle

Growing up, our son only had two speeds: sleep and run. If he was awake, he was on the move—at warp speed. Our daughter was much easier. She could sit calmly for hours coloring. But our son is different than our daughter. He’s more intense, more fearless, and much more dangerous when he plays.

As you might expect, most of our early parenting challenges revolved around getting him to sit still, slow down, and behave more like his calmer older sister.

But with so much emphasis on helping boys embrace their sensitive side, it’s easy to forget God made boys with this intensity for a reason.

God calls men to be bold and courageous, to defend the weak, and to take up the cause of the orphan and the widow through both prayer and action. If we only encourage sensitivity, we end up with passive men incapable of standing against evil.

Jesus was not a wimp when He walked this earth. He fought for others through prayer (Luke 22:44), stood boldly in the face of His enemies (John 19:9-11), spoke uncompromising truth (Matthew 23:13-33), used force to drive evil out of the temple (John 2:15), courageously absorbed brutal attacks (Luke 22:63-65), and willingly laid down His life for others (John 10:18).

Jesus is described in Scripture as the Lion and the Lamb, but we often forget the Lion part. Remember: it was God who trained David for war. We must prepare our sons for battle too.

I’ve taught my son to be gentle, wise, and avoid conflict, but I’ve also taught him first aid, CPR, and how to defend himself and others.

He grew up in a turbulent time. The normal concerns of his age were compounded by a global pandemic, social unrest, and deep political animosity. Yet through it all, I‘ve seen him use his strength to defend weaker classmates from bullies, absorb insults and injustices with poise, and even find ways to have political conversations with “the other side” that strengthen friendships instead of destroying them.

I like the man he has become. I feel safer knowing he won’t back down from the battles of his day, and I look forward to watching him train the next generation to do the same.

At FamilyLife, we want every home to be a godly home, so we’ve gathered our best resources for raising boys in one place. Please visit our “Raising Boys ” page to learn more.