William G. Boykin Quotes

Talk through options and offer suggestions. Don't ignore an obvious problem in your family life and in your marriage.

A few Christian men I've met seem to think they are somehow robbed of their manhood if their wife has a job, and it's even worse if she has a serious career of her own. That's a foolish attitude. At the same time, what is even worse is a man whose wife is compelled to work because her husband refused to get a job.

We fought an eighteen-hour battle that day. Most people don't realize this, but we were fighting over two of our dead comrades- the pilot and co-pilot. And we took more casualties because we refused to leave them behind. We couldn't get those two bodies extracted from that helicopter, and we were not going to leave the remains of our two men behind. We were fighting over dead bodies. But, to us, it didn't matter. Alive or dead, they were our comrades and they were coming out with us. We knew they would have been there for us were the roles reversed. When Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon made that third request to go down into the street, they knew there wasn't much chance they would come out alive. That's a transcendent cause. And so was recovering the bodies of the others who died. The question for today is this- have we assessed our lives to determine who and what it is that's worth living and dying for? One can be part of today's "give me" generation or one can be part of "I'll give to you." Shughart and Gordon were givers- not takers. And they gave their lives. But they gave their lives because they had a transcendent cause. Their cause was- at the tactical level- the same for every warrior who's ever been on the battlefield: the guy behind you, in front of you, and on your right and left.

Most of us have managed to hang on to a few good friends. They may not be battle buddies, but they've found a way to stay in our lives, and we're in theirs for the long haul. When that's the case, we have certain responsibilities to them. Sometimes we have the pleasure of applauding their accomplishments or sharing happy occasions with them. But, when necessary, we also owe it to them to be truth-tellers. And we have to hope they'll be equally straightforward with us.

Terrorists strike like lightning- hard, fast, and without warning.

Big talkers have a greater tendency to compromise you than the string, silent types who aren't so eager to transmit the latest insider gossip. You have to think about those characteristics.

I grew up under the leadership and tutelage of a real man who taught me about respect for the flag, pride in being an American, and expecting only opportunity from this great nation. He was so proud of my brother and me because we chose to serve in the U.S. Army. My sister was married to an Army officer as well, and my dad saw his dreams for his children fulfilled as we all served in some measure. It was important to him for us to carry on with the tradition of military service. I had no choice but to love America and to show that love by serving. If you were a male in the Boykin family and carried the family name, you were expected to serve. Two of my sons followed that tradition and joined the Army. I am so proud of them. The point here is that being a man is not about education level, physical strength, annual salary, or good looks. Rather, it is about character and demonstrated values. I was blessed to be raised by a real man who taught me a great deal about life. A man who set a great example who invested in me with his time and energy. This book is not about Cecil, but I would not be writing it if it weren't for him and the influence he had on my life.

Why is this man in the White House? The majority of Americans did not vote for him. Why is he there? And I tell you this morning that he’s in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this.

In every case, here's the challenging bottom line: practicing tough love is- without question- toughest on the man who loves the most.

The left can scream all it wants that the war on terror is about oil or American imperialism or George W. Bush's personal amusement. That if we weren't such big, bad bullies, the poor third world jihadists wouldn't have attacked us, and the French would like us better. But we are not the bad guys. Our motto is life and liberty. The jihadists' motto is convert or die. And no matter how much the PC crowd would like to deny it, the inalienable right to liberty that America is fighting for is part of the Judeo-Christian heritage that is the bedrock of our nation. As Thomas Jefferson wrote, the right to liberty comes from outside us, planted in our hearts by our Creator, making it not merely an American ideal, but a human ideal. America is a melting-pot society. We speak many languages, and respect many cultures and religions. But every man, woman and child deserves the freedom endowed by their creator. That's why America's cause is just. That's why we're the good guys. And that's why we will never surrender.

Some men can become increasingly self-indulgent and you notice over time they're spending more and more money on personal pastimes. They always want the very best gear available to enhance their hobby. Fishing. Golf. Hunting. Photography. Collecting fossils. Whatever it is, once they've bought every gadget or artifact they can possibly find, they move on to the next diversion, and on it goes. Before long, your friend- or your friend's wife- is trying to figure out how to pay the bills by month's end. Of course, you can't always stop somebody from making foolish mistakes and choices, but as a friend, you really do have a responsibility to try. You may be able to protect a very good friend from making a very bad life decision, and you've got to hope someday he'll find the courage to do the same for you.

We also need to be encouragers to our friends. Some of them have hopes and dreams, yet although they've prayed and watched and waited, there's been no answer from above. I think most of us want instant gratification. We even want it in our walk with Christ. Sometimes we get quick and miraculous answers to our prayers. The more typical story is one of persistence and steadfastness; pray, watch, and wait. Do you remember the story of Elijah? He was up on Mount Carmel waiting for God to send the rain He'd promised. Elijah told his servant, "Go look. Do you see any rain clouds?" His servant came back to him six times and said, "Nope." Elijah sent him out yet again. That time the servant came back and said, "Well, yeah. I did see a cloud the size of a man's fist..." After seven tries, the rain was finally on its way.

George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the United States, he was appointed by God.

Three days later we went after him again, and this time we got him. Not a mark on him. We got him. We brought him back into our base there and we had a Sea Land container set up to hold prisoners in, and I said put him in there. They put him in there, there was one guard with him. I said search him, they searched him, and then I walked in with no one in there but the guard, and I looked at him and said, "Are you Osman Atto?" And he said "Yes." And I said, "Mr. Atto, you underestimated our God."

Well, is he <nowiki>[</nowiki>bin Laden<nowiki>]</nowiki> the enemy? Next slide. Or is this man <nowiki>[</nowiki>Saddam<nowiki>]</nowiki> the enemy? The enemy is none of these people I have showed you here. The enemy is a spiritual enemy. He’s called the principality of darkness. The enemy is a guy called Satan.”