A young man =
went to seek an important position at a large printing company. He =
passed the initial interview and was going to meet the director for the =
final interview. The director =
saw his resume, it was excellent. And asked, "Have you =
received a scholarship for school?"
The boy replied, =
"No".
‘It was =
your father who paid for your studies? ” Yes.’ He =
replied.
‘Where does =
your father work? ‘ ‘My father is a Blacksmith’
The Director =
asked the young man to show him his hands. The young man showed a pair =
of hands soft and perfect. ‘Have you ever helped your parents at their =
job?’
‘Never, my =
parents always wanted me to study and read more books. Besides, he can =
do the job better than me.’
The director =
said: ‘I have got a request: When you go home today, go and wash the =
hands of your father and then come see me tomorrow =
morning.’
The young man =
felt his chance to get the job was high. When he returned to his house =
he asked his father if he would allow him to wash his hands. His father =
felt strange, happy, but with mixed feelings and showed his hands to his =
son. The young man washed his hands, little by little. It was the first =
time that he noticed his father’s hands were wrinkled and they had so =
many scars. Some bruises were so painful that his skin shuddered when he =
touched them.
This was the =
first time that the young man recognized what it meant for this pair of =
hands to work every day to be able to pay for his studies. The bruises =
on the hands were the price that his father paid for his education, his =
school activities and his future. After cleaning his father’s hands the =
young man stood in silence and began to tidy and clean up the workshop. =
That night, father and son talked for a long =
time.
The next =
morning, the young man went to the office of the director. The Director =
noticed the tears in the eyes of the young man when He asked him, ‘Can =
you tell me what you did and what you learned yesterday at your =
house?’
The boy =
replied: ‘I washed my father’s hands and when I finished I stayed and =
cleaned his workshop. Now I know what it is to appreciate and recognize =
that without my parents, I would not be who I am today. By helping my =
father I now realize how difficult and hard it is to do something on my =
own. I have come to appreciate the importance and the value in helping =
my family.’
The director =
said, "This is what I look for in my people. I want to hire someone =
who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the hardship =
others go through to accomplish things, and a person who realizes that =
money is not his only goal in life".
‘You are =
hired’.
A child that =
has been coddled, protected and given everything he or she wants, =
develops a mentality of "I have the right" and will always put =
himself or herself first, ignoring the efforts of parents, family and =
friends. If we are this type of protective parent are we really showing =
love or are we helping to destroy our children?
You can give =
your child their own room in a big house, good food, a computer, tablet, =
cell phone, and a big screen TV, but when you’re washing the floor or =
painting a wall, children need to experience that =
too.
After eating, =
have them wash the dishes with their brothers and sisters, let them fold =
laundry or cook with you, pull weeds or mow the lawn. You are not doing =
this because you are poor and can’t afford help. You are doing this =
because you love them and want them to understand certain things about =
life.
Children need =
to learn to appreciate the amount of effort it takes to do a job right. =
They need to experience the difficulties in life that people must =
overcome to be successful and they must learn about failure to be able =
to succeed.
Children must =
also learn how to work and play with others and that they will not =
always win, but they can always work harder to reach their goals. If =
they’ve done their best, then they can take pride in all the effort they =
put forth.
Life is about =
giving and serving and these qualities are taught in our =
homes.
~~
Dr Bob Griffin =
[email protected] =
www.grif.net
"Jesus =
Knows Me, This I Love!"