It’s God, family and job – Fathers

George W. Truett, a well-known pastor, was invited to dinner at the home of a very wealthy man in Texas some years ago. After the meal, the host led him to a place where they could get a good view of the surrounding area.

Pointing to the oil wells punctuating the landscape, he boasted, “Thirty-five years ago, I had nothing. Now, as far as you can see, it is all mine.” Looking in the opposite direction at his sprawling fields of grain he said, “They are all mine.” Then pointing to the west toward a beautiful forest, he exclaimed, “That, too, is all mine.”

He paused at this point, expecting Dr. Truett to compliment him on his great success. Instead, Truett placed one hand on the man’s shoulder and pointed toward heaven with the other and simply said, “How much do you have in that direction?” The wealthy man immediately hung his head and confessed, “You know, I have never really thought of that.”

*During our early years, my wife and I visited a high school friend of mine who lived in Alabama. Since moving there, he had become rather wealthy by owning businesses in more than one location. He lived out in the country in a nice house on several acres of land with his wife and two young sons. Our young son went with us on the trip, and near sunset that day, we stepped outside the house into the yard. My friend’s oldest son immediately pointed toward the east saying, “My dad owns all that GD land you see out there.” When we told my friends and his family good-bye early the next morning, they knew it would be the last time we would visit with them.

Let me make myself clear at this point before you begin to make assumptions. There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing well in life and becoming wealthy as long as God remains in first place. Our company employees have always been told that the order of importance in their lives should be God, family and then their jobs. Yes, it is hard to do sometimes because the newspaper business is very demanding. Always remember that God owns everything anyway, He just lets us use it.

*The story is told of a man who came home late one night from work to find his five-year-old son waiting for him. “Daddy, can I ask you a question?” the lad asked. “What is it?” the father asked. “How much money do you make an hour?” the son asked. “I make $20 an hour,” the father replied.

The little boy thought for a moment then asked, “Daddy can I have nine dollars?” “Don’t be ridiculous,” the father replied. “I have a lot of work to finish so stop bothering me.”

Later, the father began thinking about his son’s request. “I have decided you can have the nine dollars,” he told his son. “Oh, thank you,” the boy replied as he opened his piggy bank and began counting out money.

When the father saw all the dollar bills his son had saved, he began to get angry. “Look at all the money you already have,” he said. “What on earth are you going to buy?” The boy added his father’s nine dollars to the pile and offered the bills to his father. “Daddy, may I buy an hour of your time?” he said.

Remember, fathers, the three top priorities in order should always be God, family, and then job. Have a wonderful Father’s Day Sunday!!!

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