Where have all the good (young) men gone?

Where have all the good men gone - 1

– Herman Melville, Moby Dick

I have had a few instances in the past few weeks where I have had to think to myself, what would your father think about that? Not only your earthly father but your heavenly father as well. Sometimes I get the idea that some young men (not all) don’t think they will ever have to be accountable for their actions. Back to that in a minute…..

First of all I want to thank a few of you fathers out there that are raising God fearing young men. I think it will save me a lot of time with a shovel, when my girls start to date. I ask you though, where did you learn the lessons you are sharing with your sons? I bet it was your father and grandfather. I am confident my parents would still be married today if my father was still alive, and I watched my grandfather sit beside my grandmother’s hospital bed as leukemia took her.

Where have all the good men gone - 2Please don’t get me wrong, I am not the perfect father, Lord knows, I ask for help. But sometimes I see or hear of something some young man has done or said, and my first thought is not, What would Jesus Christ think…..It is what does your father think? Is no one accountable anymore? Are we a soft enough society that a village no longer raises a child? I am pretty sure all of my neighbors had “Beat on sight when necessary” instructions for me when I was a kid.

We spend a lot of time on this blog discussing leadership, and I have come to think as leaders we are responsible to not only each other, but those without a good example. I said to someone, “…that really isn’t any of my business…” and their response to me was “Why isn’t it?” It has taken me all week to figure out that, maybe I should make it my business. Maybe we should all start making a few more injustices our business.

No I am not saying start wearing a cape and mask out after dark, or go looking for trouble either. But maybe there are some opportunities we could get involved in, not just look the other way. I am also not saying let’s try to fight all of the battles, but I bet we can find at least a few more that are worth fighting.

Where have all the good men gone - 3We won’t be able to fix them all, but maybe we should be trying to fix a few. I am disturbed about all the entitlement that seems to be growing in our young people, especially our young men. Where did the sense of responsibility go? Why do so many young men’s lives revolve around an Xbox? Why would a young man, text his mother on her birthday? Some of this stuff aggravates the mess out of me.

Men of Leadership Voices, in 2014 this is gonna be my own private little war. I am going to make it my business, to make some young men understand what it means to be a man. It might get messy, but that’s what makes being a man fun.

Photo credit: Reeding Lessons / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA
Photo credit: Mike Babiarz / Foter / CC BY
Photo credit: rholliday? / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA
Photo credit: Powerhouse Museum Collection / Foter

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I am a Christian, a Husband and a Father, in that order. Leadership is important to me, because I see too many outside influences acting on the lives of my children, and I need support to make sure I am the most dominant influence. I appreciate your feedback and enjoy reading your input. Thanks in advance for being part of this endeavor.

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.