Saturday, June 15, 2013
Curing Delinquency
Years ago in
South Africa's Pilanesberg Park, thirty-nine rhinos were slaughtered. At first officials suspected poachers, but
later they determined that these rhinos were murdered by young male elephants. Here are some snippets from a CBS news story that
explained the elephant's behavior:
·
The problem goes back 20 years to South Africa's
largest conservation area, Kruger National Park. Kruger had too many elephants.
In those days there was no way to relocate these large adults. So researchers
decided to kill the adults and save the children, who were more easily
transported to other parks... The intentions may have been good but the program
created a whole generation of traumatized orphans thrown together without any
adults to teach them how to behave.
·
...like juvenile delinquents, they had grown up
without role models. "I think
everyone needs a role model, and these elephants that left the herd had no role
model and no idea of what appropriate elephant behavior was," said
Gus van Dyk, Pilanesberg Park's field ecologist.
·
Years later those lonely orphans developed into
troubled teen-agers. That's when the killings at Pilanesberg Park began. Like a
police department facing a crime wave, the rangers photographed the murder
scenes and put together rap sheets on the prime suspects, giving them each
names...
·
In 1998, the rangers at Kruger National Park
brought in some of these big elephants... The bigger, older elephants
established a new hierarchy, in part by sparring with the younger elephants to
discourage them from being sexually active. That means less testosterone, and
that's good news for the rhinos....The Pilanesberg juveniles seem to be reading
the message loud and clear. Since the big bulls arrived, not one rhino has been
killed.
(http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/08/22/60II/main226894.shtml)
The lesson is clear
and it applies to humans as well: We need mentors - we need fathers. Thank you,
fathers and father figures, for being positive role models. Please do not underestimate the impact of your
faithfulness to family, moral principles and God. You are a forefather to
future generations. One day the true
impact of your life will be measured.
The most important consequence of your time on earth will, most likely,
not be intellectual or financial; it will be societal. You may not be rich or famous, but your life
has incredible potential to change future generations.
If you have been
living an honest life only to feel like little has been accomplished, take
heart in the life of Jesus Christ. He
was slaughtered by a world power that colluded with religious leaders. When he died His followers fled. Even after he came back from the dead and prepared
to ascend into heaven, His crowd of followers was much smaller than it had been
in years past. Jesus seemed to pass off the scene a loser, squashed by the
"powers that be". But today
most of the world knows who He is and billions claim to be His followers. Jesus lived what he taught and his life is
still changing our world.
What if fathers
everywhere would live and lead honestly and courageously?
What if more dads treated their family with love and respect,
demonstrating selflessness and responsibility?
What if we valued men who led? History has proven that such character
traits do not come naturally and cannot
be effectively instilled by governments, schools or even churches. It's
a dad thing. Fathers and father figures
are the cure to delinquency - our Heavenly Father designed it that way. I salute
the men who have embraced their high calling of fatherhood because they are the
cure for delinquency
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