Lessons from Father-kids camping - it's Hard Work!

So I went to a father-child camp last weekend with my boy.  We packed a tent, sleeping bags, mosquito repellent, mess tins, solid fuel and precious little experience as to how exactly to do this!  Before we left, I told my wife I'd never set up a tent before, and she looked at me funny and said, "Didn't you spend years and years in the army and reservist?"  To which I explained, "Army where got tent?  We just slump to the ground and fall asleep in the mud!"

Thankfully, these modern tents turned out to be surprisingly easy to set up - 10 minutes and we were done!  But the less said about our mess tin dinner cooked over solid fuel stove, the better :P

There were about 30+ Dads at the camp, together with their kids, ranging from around 7-15 years old by my guess.  Old Dads, young Dads, macho Dads, geek Dads, all kinds of Dads.  And of course, all manner of kids too - cool kids, nerd kids, Energizer-bunny kids, shy kids.

In the eyes of the world, everyone wants to be an alpha-male, uber-successful Dad, with the cool, straight-A, school team captain kid.  But as I went through the camp, it was obvious that none of us were that (sorry guys)!  But you know what all of us were?  We were all TRYING to be that.  Just by being there, spending the long weekend roughing it out with the kids, burning our food, struggling to stay awake after a night in the sauna, I mean tent.  So, a salute to all the imperfect, struggling, wish-we-were-uber Dads :)

Proverbs 10 marks the beginning of King Solomon's proverbs.  Proverbs 10:1 says "A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother." Proverbs 12:1 says "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid." Proverbs 13:1 says "A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not respond to rebukes."

It's interesting to me that the first verse of Proverbs 10, 12 and 13 all focus on listening to instruction and the relationship between mentor/father and mentee/son.  My boy is far from perfect.  But I am thankful that he is a teachable kid, open to correction, even if it sometimes seems as if it's in one ear and out the other!  His teachability really helps me to embrace my own job as his teacher, and I learn a lot myself.  So, during the many opportunities at camp to just sit down and chat under the stars, father to son, we came upon the topic of "Why do I need to go to school?"

Dad: So Daniel, why do you go to school?
Dan: To do well and get to a good secondary school.
Dad: And why do you want to go to a good secondary school?
Dan: So that I can go to University.
Dad: And why do you want to go to University?
Dan: So I can get a good job.
Dad: And why do you want a good job?
Dan: So I can earn money and buy things.
Dad: Hmm.  So what about kids who are born into rich families?  Doesn't Bill Gates' kid still go to school?  But he already has everything.  So he doesn't need a job, or University, or a good secondary school or even go to school at all?
Dan: ...
...
...
...
OK then, so why do kids need to go to school?
Dad *brain gears kicking in to think of an answer*: Hmm.  You know what, I think it's this.  You don't go to school to get to a better school, to get a job, to get money.  You go to make yourself useful to others.  That's why, rich or poor, everyone goes to school and to work.  To be useful to others.  Not yourself.

Reflecting on that conversation, I think it's true for adults as well.  We go to work, not so much for ourselves, but so that we can be useful to those around us.

There's a joke about the rich man who came across a bum, fishing by the river.  The rich man tells the bum that if he works hard, he can catch more fish, eventually set up a fishery business, make lots of money, and then retire in comfort.  Upon which the bum looks around and says, but I'm already doing that!

The story is intended to show that the rich man is foolish.  But the truth is, both the rich man and the bum have got it wrong.  Life is not meant to be wasted - neither by accumulating things with the objective of retiring, nor by drifting through life in a haze of selfish hedonism.

In the account of the creation of the universe, the book of Genesis explains that God made man in His image.  Genesis further records that for six days, God worked, before resting on the seventh.  Being made in God's image, our job is... to work.  Then rest.  But work again!  We do not chase after material things, but we do have to WORK.  And work hard.  God did not make us to be bums and drifters, focused on our enjoyment and relaxation.  No, we were designed to work as diligent stewards of His works of creation.

Proverbs 10:5 says "He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son."  Proverbs 10:26 goes on to say "As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggards to those who send them."

God sent me to be useful to others, to gather in the harvest.  When I am slow to act and lazy - I am like vinegar to teeth and smoke to God's eyes!  Irritating!  God help me to be determined to act, today!  And to all my friends who are imperfect fathers like myself, let's teach our children to do the same with all the potential they have in their precious lives :)

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