What to say to Christian boys

Roger E. Olsen has been been asked by a friend who is a youth pastor to speak with the boys of his Christian youth group.
Here, in outline, is what he plans to say:-
- It’s good to be a boy. Just like girls and women, boys and men should be proud of what God has made them to be.
- A boy or a man may need to reign in the tendency towards testosterone-driven aggression.
- Ignore the popular sterotypes, such as, ‘men don’t cry’.
- Choose your heroes carefully, and base your choice on character, rather than prowess in sport or war.
- Put down the computer games and read.
- Find a trustworthy adult outside the family you can confide in.
- Resist peer pressure that tries to make you into someone other than who you really are.
- Avoid spending time on the internet in private.
- Talk openly with your parents.
- Pray and read your Bible every day – especially when you don’t feel like it!
This is for an American audience. But there’s food for thought for other settings too.