Parenting as a Christian Single Dad

I have done quite a bit of reading on goal setting and about making the most out of life. Well last week in church I came across a nice story written by Tim LaHaye called “True Riches”. I have been thinking about it all week and how to apply it to my life and the goals that I have set. I think it has great insight into setting goals as a Christian – so here goes:

Never settle for second-rate or selfish goals. Earl Nightingale, who probably has helped to motivate more people than any other living person, advises that people desiring success should never try to get rich. Above all, set goals for yourself that involve helping other people; the riches will follow. He has certainly captured the Biblical principle, “Give, and it will be given to you.” (Luke 6:38)

The richest people I know are those that have given themselves unselfishly to other people. Such motivation will affect the way you cook ,sell, teach, or ply your particular trade. True riches, of course, are totally unrelated to money or material reward. In fact, if a person has earned money without helping people, his money will not buy him happiness.

A perceptive real estate friend who sold rather expensive homes observed that a big house never brought happiness. But if people bought a big home with money they earned helping other people, they tended to enjoy that home. He expressed his homespun philosophy in these words, “Instead of buying a status symbol, a home should be an expression of how much help a person has been to his fellowman.” Of one thing I am sure: Happy people have strong goals – and somehow these include helping other people. They can also be assured that they will never run out of people to help.