Raising boys is filled with challenges. Personally I’ve got two. Both are very different in personality. Yet in some ways they are very similar.  The following question from our Marriage and Parent Summit hits home for me. And I deeply value the response.

My 2 year old is into good guys vs bad guys earlier than I would like. I want him to like stories without conflict like Curious George.

We live in a society riddled with violence. Movies, television and video games continue to numb our society to the effects of death. The permanency of death is removed with a reset button. As a result, we have children growing up with a lack of regard for life.

Despite our efforts to protect our young men from the hostility in the world around us, we are not able to change how they are created. If you have a boy or have been around boys, as soon as they can pick up a stick, it quickly becomes a gun or sword. “Bang Bang” is not something they have to be taught. They are created in the image of their heavenly Father and he is a warrior! (Exodus 15:3)

The man after God’s own heart, David, was a warrior. He loved God and had a relationship with him like no other. He fought the bad guys, he defended Israel, he stood firm in battle. And God loved him for it.

There is obviously an unhealthy focus on violence, and we see the effects of that in our world. The answer is not trying to change how your son was created.

Rather, we need to teach our sons about honor and integrity.

We need to teach our sons to value life.

To always protect and defend the weak.

Our children quickly learn that there are good guys and bad guys. Those two groups of people will exist until Jesus returns. We have a responsibility to teach them that their battle is not with flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12), but we can’t remove their desire to fight the battle!

This results in weak men who don’t know their identity in Christ.

I want my boys to grow up to be men who fiercely love God, love their families and are willing to fight the battles they face in life.

I want them to know they were created to be warriors for the kingdom. If the natural manifestation of that is running around the yard killing the bad guys, I’m okay with that.

Katie Linkous is the mother of 2 boys and 2 girls. Her experiences as a mom have drawn her deeper into God’s word as a source of wisdom and direction for her family. Katie serves as a volunteer leader on the fpKIDS team at the Pellissippi Campus at Faith Promise.  She and her husband, Clay, have been part of the Faith Promise family for two years.