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Key Bible Verse: King David … gave this charge to his son Solomon: "… Take courage and be a man" (1Kings 2:1-2). Bonus Reading: Deuteronomy 31:1-8

My son Caleb had been watching other children climb a tree, crawl out on a limb, and jump into the river 30 feet below. Now our Hawaii vacation would remain incomplete until he demonstrated his courage by conquering this obstacle. I watched him swim across the river, climb the tree, wait his turn, shimmy out to the end of the branch—and freeze.

"It's okay, sweetie," Pam called out. "You're safe. Just jump." No response. "I'm at the bottom, honey. It'll be all right. Just let go." But her female voice wasn't working. Caleb started to crawl backward off the branch.

In my heart, an alarm went off. The risk was slight, but the damage to his self-concept could last for years. So in my most authoritative voice, I called out, "Caleb!" He looked around, and I told him to climb back out. He did. "You're thinking about this too much," I told him. "You already know it'll work, so I'm going to count to three and you jump. Ready?" He nodded.

"One. Two. Three." Caleb took flight, splashed down, and surfaced triumphantly, whooping it up. He swam over to me and gave me a high five. I told him I was proud of him, and we hugged in celebration of his victory over fear.

—Bill Farrell in Why Men and Women Act the Way They Do

My Response: Are my children receiving the male input so essential to their well-rounded development?

Thought to Apply: It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are.—e.e. Cummings (poet)

Adapted from Why Men and Women Act the Way They Do (Harvest, 2003) by permission.

Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Help me, Lord, to model a true masculinity that spurs the young on to achieve without making my loving acceptance of them conditional.

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