{"id":16,"date":"2014-10-28T21:41:57","date_gmt":"2014-10-28T21:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/?p=16"},"modified":"2014-10-29T02:12:27","modified_gmt":"2014-10-29T02:12:27","slug":"why-i-gave-my-nine-year-old-son-a-combat-knife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/?p=16","title":{"rendered":"Why I Gave My Nine-Year-Old Son a Combat Knife"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tanto<\/a>

This is the actual knife I presented to one of my sons. Your knife — and your son — may vary.<\/p><\/div>\n

It was the first night of my son’s initiation into manhood.<\/a> \u00a0We had hiked to the top of Pinnacle Mountain and beyond the boundaries of Table Rock State Park and made camp for the night. \u00a0After dinner, we sat by our campfire, and I began to explain to my son the purpose and the content of this process of masculine initiation.<\/p>\n

He had persevered and willed himself forward up the steep slope of the mountain, proving that he was equal to the physical challenge of entering the process. \u00a0I told him I was proud of him and \u00a0to commemorate the start of his initiation, I presented my son with a combat knife.<\/p>\n

Although it wasn’t my son’s first knife, let me tell you when you present a nine-year-old with a knife nearly as long as his thigh, you have his full attention. \u00a0This was intentional. \u00a0As he held the knife and carefully removed it from its sheath, he looked at it solemnly, almost reverently, as I began the lesson:<\/p>\n

“Son, this knife is a symbol of your strength as a man. \u00a0Now, some people say a man is a dangerous thing — and they’re right. \u00a0Some say a knife is a dangerous thing, and they’re also right. \u00a0So let’s talk about that.<\/p>\n

“What are some good things you can do with that knife?” \u00a0Without missing a beat, my son listed an impressive number of worthwhile things a man can do with his knife — including defending others.<\/p>\n

“Good,” I said. \u00a0“And what are some bad things you could do with a knife?” Immediately, he named several illegal, immoral and unethical things a man could do with a knife — including harming himself or others.<\/p>\n

“So,” I asked, “how do we make a knife safe? \u00a0Should we grind the edge down to make it dull? \u00a0Should we bury it in the backyard and pretend it doesn’t exist? \u00a0Or should we hand it over to someone else to use against us?’ \u00a0“No,” he answered. \u00a0“Then how do we make a knife safe?” His answer was perfect: “Keep it sharp. \u00a0Keep it clean. \u00a0And keep it under your control.”<\/p>\n

I explained that his answer is also correct for the proper use of masculine strength.<\/p>\n

Keep it sharp<\/strong>
\nGod invested greater physical strength in men, and this is part of how men reflect His\u00a0image. \u00a0A man owes it to God to cultivate the gifts he has received from his Maker. \u00a0This includes taking care of his body, his mind and his spirit, but it also includes developing his moral sense and pursuing wisdom, and especially using masculine strength to defend the weak.<\/p>\n

To keep your masculine strength sharp is to answer the question of why<\/em> God gave that strength to you in the first place. \u00a0When you understand why, you’ll understand better\u00a0how<\/em>. Men have accomplished great good through\u00a0the proper use of masculine strength.<\/p>\n

Keep it clean<\/strong>
\nMany large and small problems in the world today are from the abuse of masculine strength. \u00a0Think of all the misery that results from fatherlessness, for example. \u00a0We misuse our masculine strength when we exploit others for our gain — whether in intimidating weaker men, taking liberties with women, or simply being indifferent to the suffering of others.<\/p>\n

But the misuse of strength isn’t always an action. \u00a0Some men fear their strength or what others will think of them, so they stay on the porch and don’t offer the world anything. \u00a0If this is you, consider what the world and those closest to you will lose if you remain inert. \u00a0Check your motives and for Heaven’s sake, ACT!<\/p>\n

Keep it under control<\/strong>
\nThe power to make decisions and to take responsibility for these decisions and their\u00a0outcomes is a hallmark of moral agency. \u00a0This is one of the big differences between human beings\u00a0and animals — and also why God held Adam and Eve responsible for eating the forbidden fruit.<\/p>\n

Even so, there are too many men walking around blaming others for their poor choices. \u00a0A man must recognize the strength he has received from God, value it, build on it, and own it for all it’s worth. \u00a0Throughout the New Testament, men are charged with spiritual headship of their families. \u00a0This is why I say men are to lead in the arena of relationships. \u00a0 We will talk more about this, but you cannot lead your family or anyone, if you are constantly handing your strength over to others.<\/p>\n

So how about you?<\/strong> \u00a0How are you handling your masculine strength? \u00a0Add your comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was the first night of my son’s initiation into manhood. \u00a0We had hiked to the top of Pinnacle Mountain and beyond the boundaries of Table Rock State Park and made camp for the night. \u00a0After dinner, we sat by our campfire, and I began to explain to my son the purpose and the content […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[52,53,18,54,55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-masculinity","category-moral-agency","category-sexual-morality","category-strength","category-wisdom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":300,"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions\/300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therealgeobooth.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}