Mentor a Rampaging Elephant

I was recently watching an Animal Planet thing with my kids, it was about Elephant Rage.  For the most part it had to do with what an elephant remembers and rampaging captive elephants.  The part that caught my attention had to do with a game preserve in Africa.  On this preserve when the elephant population gets too big, they are harvested (not my words, I would have said shot them…but I am not too politically correct.).  They generally harvest the large adults, which leads to a lot of orphans.  These orphans are then forced to “raise” themselves, learning how to be elephants on their own.  Elephant babies stay with their mama’s for most of their lives, babies are raised in a “village” so to speak.  Aunts are right there and all (momma and the aunts) take a part in raising the babies.  Males do not run with a herd, but young males do band together.

On this game preserve they found hippos, elephants and other animals were being killed.  At first they did not know what was killing them, but after some study they found that a band (a gang if you will) of young males were rampaging around killing other animals.  There was some thought that they might have to kill them to protect the other animals.  Finally someone came up with the idea to introduce some adult male elephants.  Almost immediately the behavior, of the band of young elephants, stopped.  The adults quietly went about the business of teaching these orphans how to be elephants.

Now don’t quote me as to the complete accuracy of all of this, I am trying to work from memory.  And the memory ain’t what it used to be.  The point to it is this, when a young elephant has an adult elephant to teach them how to be an elephant….there are no rampaging bands of elephants.  Which leads me to this, young people need role models.

Right now all over the country young people are in gangs because they are looking for some support, someone to look up to.  Unfortunately that is where they are finding it, regardless if it is good support or not.  How many of these young people, if they had adult role models growing up, would have made different choices?  How many are out there right now, looking like adults, but have no idea how to be an adult man or woman?  Isn’t if funny how God put something in place, like the hierarchy of an elephant herd so that young elephants would be taught how to be adult elephants, to show us how to mentor the young.  It is actually very similar in all over the animal world, the young are taught by the adults…how to be adults.  God put that in place!

Only man, with his higher thinking, has screwed that up.  God showed me a perfect example, with the rampaging elephants, of how our world is now.  Young people, without role models, are running around looking and acting like adults with no clue what it really means.  The world is showing that it has no fear of God, but in Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 

Show the youngsters, that you know, that you do “fear” God.  Live a life for someone other than yourself.  Step outside your comfort zone and mentor someone who is at risk.  Heck for the fun of it…mentor your own kids!  Teach them the importance of the Godly mentor in Proverbs 1:8-9

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.  They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.

As a father I would want my daughters (and all I have is daughters, so boys, I know what most of you are thinking about…stop it!) to date/marry a Godly young man.  One who knows the meaning of Ephesians 6:1-3

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  Honor your father and mother – which is the first commandment with a promise – so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy a long life on the earth.

And my prayer is that I will be the father and mentor in Ephesians 6:4

Fathers, do not exasperate your children, instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Didn’t mean for this to go on this long, but once I started writing……it was kind of like eating potato chips, I couldn’t stop.