July 25; A Boy Named Sue: Is There A painless Path To Growth And Maturity?
MANAGEMENT BY THE BOOK:
365 Daily Bible Verse &
One-Minute Management Lessons For The Busy Faithful

Chapter Seven: Power; 25 July

So when we could stand it no longer…

We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ,

to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,

so that no one would be unsettled by these trials.

For you know quite well that we are destined for them.

1 Thessalonians 3:1a – 3:3

Hardening

When our first child Hannah (aka, The Dreamer) was born we talked about how to have her grow up strong and resourceful. And how to be resistant to the culture and these current times which do not appreciate our values.

“I need to get some barbed wire for her crib,” I said. I was serious.

“Wire?” Charmaine asked.

“Barbed – the Army calls it concertina, sounds almost feminine. It’s not Juan Wired or concertinO: concertinA…Hannah will like that…” I said.

“What?” Charmaine is confused. “Maybe when she’s older — To keep boys out. She’s a baby, she’s –“

“– Exactly,” I was animated. New parents are always concerned about the future. “We need to teach her about the world…”

“With barbed wire?” Mothers are always more concerned about the child’s immediate safety, “She’ll cut herself. She’ll bleed.” I didn’t know it at the time but there is nothing more disturbing than baby blood.

No, I never did string barb wire around the bassinet. But we use the metaphor to teach our children about overcoming obstacles and it will hurt and yes, it will stretch you into becoming “a useful citizen” as president John Adams wished for his children.

Management textbooks remind us that motivations are “forces that energize, direct, and sustain a person’s efforts.” We want our children to be self-motivated. We wanted The Dreamer to dream the impossible dream and to be willing to march into Hell for a heavenly cause and all that…

Parents don’t know where or when a random danger will come. But we parents know the hurt will happen. And every parent’s fear is that we will not be there to protect the child from danger or that the child will not be able to deal with danger when it comes.

The preparation in child training, like athletic or spiritual training, is a constant stretching. Wisdom and experience will come with bruises and hopefully without getting beat-up too often. It will not, can not, be easy.

***

The song A Boy Named Sue was made popular by country music singer Johnny Cash in 1969. It tells the tale of a young man growing up furious and fast with his fists; moving from town to town as his name was ridiculed.

His father left the boy at age 3 and knew he wouldn’t be there for the young man as he would grow up and face life’s trials that would soon come on to the boy’s way. So the soon-to-be-absent-father gave him a feminine name to make him grow-up strong. The name served its purpose.

So when we could stand it no longer…We sent Timothy, who is our brother and co-worker in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. For you know quite well that we are destined for them. 1 Thessalonians 3:1a – 3:3

###

Motivations are “forces that energize, direct, and sustain a person’s efforts.”

Management 3ed, Bateman, Snell, McGrawHill, page 257