My Grandpa was the first person (that I can remember) to give me a taste of true responsibility. My mother was horrified, and my father was proud when my grandpa gave me that first taste of responsibility. At 8 years old and dressed as a ninja, my grandfather handed me responsibility embodied – a single shot, .22 caliber, lever action rifle. Responsibility.
My father took me out to shoot it a few weeks later, and taught me how to be responsible with a gun and the lives of the people around me.
I still own that rifle today, and look forward to giving it to my son Howard when he is ready for real responsibility. That time won’t come when he has proven that he’s ready, nor when his mother thinks he’s ready. He’ll be ready when I chose to give him responsibility. As men, we need responsibility and to know we’re trusted with it.
When were you first given true responsibility?
Just a thought…sometimes when you give children too much to handle too soon they become what the Bible calls…"Wise in their own eyes." This is because they see what you give them as being an older persons "privilege" and reason they must be wise, when in reality they need age appropriate responsibilities/privileges so they have a proper perspective of who they are and respect for authority and "earn" the right to be treated as a man…not a "pseudo man."
Lynn Kondryszyn
Hi, Lynn! I see what you're saying… What I'm seeing nowadays with college students is that men are often coddled by their parents and don't give them appropriate responsibility soon enough.
There are many differing opinions of how boys are able to 'earn' their right to be treated as a man. I've heard many stories where the son has had to 'earn' the right, where what they were expected to do was completely unrelated to the responsibility that should be given them.
In the end, I think that we're not treating boys as men soon enough these days, which prevents them from really growing up and becoming men.
Thanks for joining the conversation!
Jason, I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I have preached about this exact same issue. Too many fathers are making their sons earn the title of “responsible.” There is an old saying, “A boy is not a man until a man is needed.” Until that time, men (boys) tend to be what they are expected to be and only that. Giving a boy some responsibility before he has “earned” it is a wonderful way of demonstrating trust and prompting boys to grow up. Rick