Don’t Tame the Lion Cub: A NERF Gun, a Driveway, a Delivery Guy, a COP and a Culture in Decline

Today, a delivery driver called the cops on our nine year old son and his best friend for playing outside with NERF guns. Bright blue, yellow, orange — plastic toys that couldn’t hurt a fly.

They were in our yard, being what boys were made to be: loud, playful, active. And yet, what followed tells a deeper story of a culture that has forgotten what masculinity — even in its most innocent forms — looks like.

According to the officer who showed up at our door (embarrassed, thankfully), the delivery driver reported that our boys had pointed their toy guns at him. Instead of rolling down the window and smiling, instead of recognizing what used to be a normal American scene — a backyard battlefield of foam darts and childhood dreams — he bolted down the driveway and called 911.

A wellness check. For what? Boys being boys?

A Culture Gone Soft

This isn't just about one overreacting delivery driver. It’s about a cultural narrative that has gone soft. Masculinity is now a trigger word. Boys are liabilities. Play is dangerous. And a world where kids play outdoors is treated like a threat.

Let me ask you — when did seeing boys outside become so abnormal that it causes alarm?

There was a time when scraped knees, tree forts, and mock battles were a rite of passage. It built courage. It built leadership. It gave boys an outlet and a sense of identity. Today, it seems the world would rather see boys glued to a screen than running wild in the yard.

This is not progress. It’s fear. And fear makes us forget who we are.

A Sonship Lesson: Let Them Be Sons

At the heart of it, this moment speaks to a deeper loss — the loss of sonship.

Sons were made to grow into strong, loving, grounded men. But how can they if the world teaches them their natural strength is toxic? If every bold instinct is questioned, every bit of energy is shamed?

This is why the SONSHIP™ movement is so important..

Sonship restores identity. It affirms that masculinity, when rooted in the love of the Father, is not a problem to be fixed — it’s a gift to be shaped.

Masculinity isn't dangerous when it's redeemed. It's dangerous when it's denied.

We need more men who are sons — men who have been fathered by God, who walk in grace and grit, who know when to be the lion and when to be the lamb.

And we need to let boys be boys. Because one day, they will need to be men. And we’re not doing them any favors by calling the cops every time they play pretend.

“Don’t Tame the Lion Cub” It's not just a slogan. It's a cry to recover what's been lost. Let’s raise sons who know who they are — and aren’t afraid to become who they were made to be.