Our society has a saying – boys will be boys. It is meant as a license for bad behavior and a free pass to act in ways that are foolish and immature. Too many of us buy into the ‘boys will be boys’ mentality. We paint all young men with a brush that says that they are incapable of being anything more than the sum of their hormones and base desires. Jesus teaches us differently.
Jesus was a boy. He was born male, and walked this earth as a young boy, teenaged guy, and adult man. Jesus was born into a family that taught Him how to honor the presence and purpose of God for His life. As an adolescent, He obeyed His parents and grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and men. As an adult, He listened to the voice of God, doing His Father’s will and surrendering His life to His eternal plan.
Jesus is the Model for our sons, grandsons, nephews, little boys, teenaged boys, all boys. Too many times we assume the worst about our boys, rather than expecting them to live like the Best. We give into the world’s wisdom, allowing society to set our standards, color our vision, and define our expectations. When we look at our young men, we can choose to see the world’s reality or the potential they have in Christ. We can settle for leaving the bar in the dirt or raising the bar to the standard of Jesus.
My Jesus Resolution today is to raise my sons to look like Jesus. They do not have to be who the world tells them they are. Choosing to be a man like Jesus is the harder, longer, more difficult path. It requires men willing to look like Jesus in transparent and personal ways in the lives of my boys. It calls for women who will live out God’s own unique call for their lives in front of them. It means finding role models who will walk with them and encourage them to be more. It demands diligence, determination, and discipline. The ‘boys will be boys’ mentality diminishes the possibilities of transformation and the power that flows from the empty tomb. I want my boys to be more. God says that they can look like Jesus.
Casandra Martin 
I have been reading the Proverbs lately and seeing how much the writers emphasize a mother’s job to teach her son. She is to teach him about wisdom and sexual purity and how to follow the right paths. The scary part is the consequences if we don’t teach our sons. They will bring us to grief. I don’t want my son to grieve me, so I try to do my best to teach him. He’s only four. I would like to think it will get easier, but I know that being the Mom of a boy is a hard job.
Excellent article. Raising a son or daughter to be like Jesus is the hardest job you will encounter. It takes prayer, a commitment to serve God at all cost, and the prayers of other Christians, as well as his/her Dad’s input to make it happen. A mother must give up some of the things other women pursue to teach her child and live the best life she can. All of this, with the Lord’s help, will see you through and you will overflow with joy when they follow the Lord.
Love these thoughts, Casandra! It reaffirms that the “yardstick” of our lives (whether male OR female and no matter what our age may be) should always be Christ, our Lord and Master — not what the world holds up as “macho”, “chic”, “groovy”, etc. And no, it’s not “just a phase” and so that makes it okay, either.
Keep up the good work!