–– Paul Schlehlein
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There are more boys alive today than at any time in human history. Africa, in particular, possesses an army of boys, as it is projected that by 2050, 40% of the world’s children will live in Africa. By 2055, Africa’s child population will reach one billion. By 2050, boys ages 1-18 will account for 1.5 billion of the population, more than the entire world’s population just 200 years ago in 1825.
Add to this the 21st century’s One-Child policy—which wiped out millions of female births—and it’s clear that boys should be our priority, though not for what they can accomplish at this moment.
Despite most boys being too tender-aged for great exploits, there are outliers. Mozart wrote his first symphony at age eight. Alexander the Great started conquering the world at age eighteen. Both at age nineteen, respectively, the Marquis de Lafayette helped turn the tide of the Revolutionary War and Blaise Pascal invented a calculator.
But the average boy simply needs steady character training today so that he will be of good use tomorrow. Let’s explore some reasons why boys matter.
Boys in Scripture
First, boys matter in Scripture. The boy Isaac, a gift to Abraham and Sarah, became the tool through which God gave his everlasting covenant (Gn. 17:15-22). The boy Samuel, given by grace to Hannah, became a great prophet in Israel and one of the dominant figures in the Old Testament (1Sm. 1). The boy John was given as a miracle to Zechariah and would later clear the way for Jesus’ coming (Lk. 1:5-25).
The boy Timothy’s catechisms prepared him to become one of the greatest missionaries in the New Testament (2Tm. 3:15). The boy Jesus was prepared by the Father to bring salvation to the world. Scripture calls boys a heritage from the Lord and compares them to arrows in the hands of a warrior (Ps. 127:3-4).
Boys in Church History
Second, boys matter in church history. In his youth, Patrick of Ireland was captured by pirates, but while enslaved, he recalled the pious teaching from his boyhood and came to Christ. Anselm’s mother taught her son the Scriptures, so that her son became the most influential Christian of the 11th century. Rawlins White never went to school, so he employed his boy to read the Scriptures to him, such that White became a preacher and a martyr at the stake.
William Tyndale spilled his blood to translate Scripture because he wanted to reach boys, telling a Catholic priest: “If God spares my life, ere many years, I will cause the boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scriptures than you do!” Though Heinrich Bullinger stands among the greatest of the Swiss Reformers, his greatest feat became his family, as he and his wife had eleven children, with all six of his boys becoming pastors.
John Newton, the great preacher and author of Amazing Grace, lived the wicked life of a slave trader before being caught in a violent storm at sea, which recalled the verses his godly mother had taught him in his boyhood, and he was converted.
Boys Today
Finally, boys matter today. Since a nation will rise and fall upon the strength of its young men, it is imperative that families, churches, schools, and societies pour heavy resources into their boys—the leaders of tomorrow.
Yes, girls possess great value too, but God created them to follow, not lead. Societies in which women dominate leadership are societies on the verge of collapse. Consider the following three solutions.
First, we must teach our boys that loving and serving Christ is their most important task in life (Mt. 22:37-39). Cultures that believe the church belongs only to women and children will never thrive. Boys who see their fathers attending church are far more likely to attend church in adulthood than if they see only their mothers worshipping on Sunday. Let us not forget that it was the boy Samuel who served God in the temple (1Sm. 3:1-21).
Second, we must teach our boys the godly virtues of masculinity. God bestowed upon men—not women—the duty to lead, provide, and protect. This means that on men, callouses and scars are good, along with demonstrations of strength like hard work, courageous leadership and constant initiation. This also means that skinny jeans, obsessive video game playing, and man buns are bad, along with acts of weakness like passivity, laziness, and the fear of man. Boys mustn’t wait until their twenties to act manly. It was the boy David who killed Goliath.
Third, we must warn our boys not to succumb to youthful years of rebellion. The word “teenager” didn’t exist until the 1940s, which was about the time parents determined it was guaranteed that their sixteen-year-old must pass through years of drinking, porn, parties, and all other forms of experimental defiance.
By contrast, 1 Timothy 4:12 warns boys not to let anyone think less of them because of their youth. The boy King Joash served God (2Chr. 24:1-2), as did the boy King Josiah (2Chr. 24:1-2). The boy Jesus enjoyed a constant relationship with God the Father (Lk. 2:41-50).
Conclusion
Today’s world wants godly boys dead, as did Herod (Mt. 2:16) and Pharaoh (Ex. 1:15-22). We must resist this murderous tide by pouring time and immense effort into our boys—the next generation of male leaders.