Boys should not be allowed to think that manners are something which women impose on men. If they do come to think this, then they will start to react like Huck Finn chafing under the constraints of civilization. Rather, they should see manners as something which men teach boys to do, for the sake of honoring and protecting women, and for the sake of living graciously with them.
-Douglas Wilson, Future Men: Raising Boys to Fight Giants
Dear mothers, I have FIVE sons, so I know how hard it can be to be raise young men to be civilized (some days I feel we are far from it!), but be encouraged and don't grow weary on raising these young men to become noble adult men one day, it is well worth the sacrifice! You might not see the fruit right now, this is the hardest part of your work, but faithfully labor knowing that one day when you stand before the Lord you have the great probability of Him saying:
"Well done, good and faithful servant."
Helpful Tools: Godly Resources for Raising Sons
*******
Are you encouraged here? I personally invite you to subscribe and get the latest posts sent to your inbox. Also, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter and get updates that are not posted here on the blog.
I agree that it is important to teach sons to have manners and to treat others with kindness. I live in a rural area where unfortunately a lot of the men you meet are the gruff he-man kind of personality. I know of some who have the attitude of,"woman serve man," end of story. They refuse to help with anything around the house for "that's womans work". These attitudes are very quickly picked up by the young boys in the homes and community. How do the wives of such men help their sons to grow up to be a man of Godly character and Godly manners (by the way a lot of these men go to church so it's not the wordly men I'm speaking of). It's sad, but it seems as if that's the attitude of most of the men in our and other rural areas, I hear ladies speak of it all the time, they just don't know what to do. What words of wisdom can you give to help women in this kind of situation.
ReplyDelete