“WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE!”

I understand that sometimes my son just parrots whatever it is I tell him to say, but there are some instances where he slowly begins to “get it”. I first taught Phin this phrase after I learned he had a habit of chasing off birds that would venture onto or lawn or, if they were really brave, our porch. He would often combine a dead sprint with a ferocious growl, and it would accomplish the task. When he says it, it sounds nothing like the commercial, but it is always combined with a varying degree of growl, and it warms my heart.

At this same time, we added the cat to our family, and I began to realize this could be a great opportunity to really start teaching my son that one of our roles as men is that of protector. So now we go through a progression. So you can often hear, "We must protect this kitty! We must protect this mommy! We must protect this house" resounding in his tent and out on the porch and throughout our small house.

They say that you really start learning something when you teach it, and, whoever "they" are, they got this one right. I've learned tons about being a protector and how God protects us as I begin to pass this on to my son.

First of all, we protect by our presence. When the cat ventures out on the porch, we stay nearby in case, as Hope is paranoid about, an adventurous hawk decides to dive onto the porch and swoop away with our new pet. The Bible is riddled with verses and stories demonstrating God's consistent and calming presence in the midst of every trial.

Another way we protect the kitty is by removing her from a given situation. When Simba, the compound mutt, ventures around our house, Phinehas knows that he should immediately grab LC and make a mad dash, again because Hope is convinced that the dog would like nothing more than to make a delicious meal out of our precious fur ball. We run drills of this situation, and his skills develop daily. God often protects us by removing us from the situation. Jesus tells us to ask God to not lead us into temptation (Matt. 6:13), and Paul reminds us that He will always provide a way out of temptation (1 Cor. 10:13).

To be honest, these were the only ways I was teaching my son to protect LC. He came up with this last one all on his own, and I just learned from him. After we would run our "Simba's coming!" drill, I began listening to Phin's conversation with the cat. Most times, he would lean down and whisper to the kitty, "Simba gonna eat you," which brings us to our third means of protection: protection by instruction. This means allows us to protect even when we are not present. We see the Proverbs filled with this kind of protection. Over and over, fathers warn sons of impending dangers and plead with them to heed their instructions. God also protects this way by allowing us to hear His commands and choosing whether to obey or not. It seems like the longer I walk with Christ I experience His protection this way rather than through His presence or Him removing me from a situation.