Suit of Armor

Flight announcements and boarding calls echo through the terminal as I sit at the airport and reflect on the past several days. I have just ended a two-week-long visit with my sister, her husband, and their 18-month-old toddler.

Let me tell you something about babies: They are A LOT of work. They can’t cook, they can’t change their own diaper, they can’t shower themselves, or even pick their nose. They can’t do much of anything except be super cute, learn cool handshakes, run around, and fill your heart with joy. Essentially, babies, especially toddlers, are miniature tornadoes in need of constant care, love, and affection.

Now, if you read the subtitle, you may be thinking, “Really? Coren, a 26-year-old bachelor, has something to say about parenting? This should be entertaining.” - Let me lower your expectations; this will be nowhere near as entertaining as watching me try to change a diaper.

While I may not have children of my own, I have spent a fair amount of time around good parents, and I was also once a little barbarian myself who had to be introduced to the ways of civilization.

Here is my thesis on parenting:

Children do not need stonemasons as parents but blacksmiths.

Let me explain.

Parents want what is best for their kids. They want to keep them safe and protect them from harm.

A few days ago, I went to a park with my nephew. This opened my eyes to all the dangers that exist. There were dogs, dirty puddles, bugs, sharp branches, big kids running around, playground equipment sitting in the sun, hard concrete, and sharp corners. There was so much potential for him to get hurt. All I wanted was to hold him tight so nothing would harm him.

As he grows older, these dangers will change. No longer will it be biting bugs and hot playground slides that will cause trouble, but the evil that exists in this world. He will have to learn who to confide in while recognizing who is untrustworthy. People will try to manipulate him and make him desire things that benefit them. He will face temptations such as greed and selfishness. He will hear about pornography, drugs, and decadence. His innocence will be tested, and his character will be challenged.

And how must parents deal with these dangers?

   – Well, they can be stonemasons or blacksmiths.

A stonemason parent builds a castle to protect their child. The walls grow with each rock they lay, removing all challenges and obstacles from their offspring’s path. They ensure that no temptation comes their way and that their kid never hears or sees the evil that lurks outside the castle. And the child should never leave the castle. Except… it does. Every child will open that castle gate eventually. It will peek outside to see what it is missing out on. It will cross the drawbridge and venture beyond the moat. And when it does so, it will have no sword strapped around its waist. It will have no helmet or breastplate, no shield or shin guards. It will be utterly unprepared to face the perils of the world.

The child will be at the mercy of whatever lies beyond those walls. It will be defenseless, for the castle was its only fortification. And those rocks may have stood firm, but they weakened its inhabitants. They sheltered, but they did not prepare.

What about blacksmith parents? How do they deal with the dangers of a playground and the world's evil?

Before the birth of their child, they light a fire. They stoke the flames until the temperatures rival those of a furnace. They then place shards of steel into the fire until they glow red. As the child is born and grows into a toddler, they begin hammering the hot steel, fashioning a suit of armor. They teach their child honesty as they temper the visor of the helmet. They instill uprightness along with the shin guards and courage with the pauldron that is placed upon the kid’s shoulders. Soon, there is no need for castle walls. And as this child ventures out and discovers the world, it does so as a knight riding on horseback, covered in what we can call the full armor of God. The child can stand its ground in the face of evil, for it has the belt of truth around its waist and the breastplate of righteousness on its chest. Its feet are fitted with the readiness that comes with Jesus’ teachings. Strapped to its left arm, the child has the shield of faith, built to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Upon its head lies the helmet of salvation, and in its right hand, it carries the sword of the spirit, forged from the word of God (Ephesians 6:10-18).

This child needs no castle because its heart has been fortified. It has been raised to recognize danger and combat it. This child has been allowed to scrape its knees, make mistakes, and struggle. This child was corrected when it acted defiantly towards its parents. This child learned the value of morality, truth, and obedience. This child was guarded against challenges that exceeded its resolve but left to conquer those which did not.

It is the child of blacksmiths, and it wears a full suit of armor.