20 Dollars Per Hour

The man came home from work late again, tired and irritated, to find his 5 year old son waiting for him at the door.   "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"

 "Yeah, sure, what is it?" replied the man.

"Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?"  "That's none of your business! What makes you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.

"I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?" pleaded the little boy.

"If you must know, I make $20.00 an hour."

"Oh," the little boy replied, head bowed. Looking up, he said,

"Daddy, may I borrow $10.00 please?"

The father was furious. "If the only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is just so you can borrow some to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you're being so selfish. I work long, hard hours everyday and don't have time for such childish games."

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even madder about the little boy's questioning.

How dare he ask such questions only to get some money.

After an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think he may have been a little hard on his son.

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10.00, and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

"Are you asleep son?" he asked.

"No daddy, I'm awake," replied the boy.

"I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier," said the man.

"It's been a long day and I took my aggravation out on you. Here's that $10.00 you asked for."

The little boy sat straight up, beaming. "Oh, thank you daddy!" he yelled.

Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some more crumpled up bills.

The man, since the boy already had money, started to get angry again .The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at the man.

"Why did you want more money if you already had some?" the father grumbled.

"Because I didn't have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied.  "Daddy, I have $20.00 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?"

Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, 

Proverbs 27:23      

 

You Can Win More Friends With Your Ears Than With Your Mouth

Dale Carnegie, author of How To Win Friends and Influence People, is considered one of the greatest "friend winners" of the century.  He taught, "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by tring to get other people interested in you."

To illustrate his point, Carnegie would tell how dogs have learned the fine art of making friends better than most people.  When you get within ten feet of a friendly dog, he will begin to wag his tail, a visible sign that he welcomes and enjoys your presence.  If you take time to pet the dog, he will become excited , lick you, and jump all over you to show how much he appreciates you.  The dog became man's best friend by being genuinely interested in people!

One of the foremost ways, of course, in which we show our interest in others is to listen to them--to ask questions, intently listen to their answers, and to ask further questions based upon what they say.  The person who feels "heard" is likely to seek out his friendly listener again and again, and to count that person as a great friend.

Need a friend?  Start listening with your heart.

Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

James 1:19