A man came home from work, tired and irritated. He found his 7-year-old son waiting for him. “Daddy, may I ask you a question?” The dad replied, “Sure, son, what is it?” “Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?” The dad became annoyed and said, “That’s really none of your business, son. Why do you want to know?” The boy said, “I’d just liked to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?”
The dad, wanting to just sit down and relax, said, “If you must know, I make about $25 an hour.” The boy sighed and lowered his head. Looking up, he asked, “Daddy, may I borrow $10, please?” At that, the father flew off the handle, “If the only reason you wanted to know how much I make is so you could hit me up for some cash to buy some silly toy, then you can just march yourself straight to your room! Quit being so selfish! I work long, hard hours every day, and don’t have time for this!” The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The dad sat down and became angry about the nerve of his son. How dare he ask questions like that! Then after a little while, the man calmed down, and started to think that maybe he was a bit hard on his boy. Maybe his son really needed the money for something important. So, the father went to his son’s room, entered, and said, “Son, I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier. It’s been a long day, and I’m sorry I took it out on you. Here’s that $10 you asked for.”
The boy sat straight up, beaming. “Oh, thank you, Daddy!” he exclaimed. Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out a wad of crumpled up dollar bills. The dad, seeing that the boy already had some money, started to get irritated again. The little boy counted out his money, and then looked up at his dad with a smile. The dad, now a bit ticked off, demanded to know what was going on, “Why did you want more money if you already had some?” The boy replied, “Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do! I have $25 now! Daddy, I’d like to buy an hour of your time.”
“Children spell love with four letters: T-I-M-E.” ~ Max Lucado
Ephesians 6:4 – “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 – “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”