Twenty-seven years ago at a Baptist Men’s Brotherhood breakfast the featured speakers stood in front of us with his fifteen-year-old son at his side.
“I am going to ask you this morning to do me and my son a great honor; I am going to ask you to speak into his life. Will you share with him out of your own personal experience some of the wisdom you have gained. What is the best advice you can give my son about the way he live’s his life.”
One by one men began to rise and share from their heart.
Many years have gone by but I thought about that morning recently when I read the following list of practical advice put together by H. Jackson Brown, Jr..
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Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
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Work at something you enjoy and that’s worthy of your time and talent.
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Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
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Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
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Be forgiving of yourself and others.
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Be generous.
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Have a grateful heart.
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Persistence, persistence, persistence.
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Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
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Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
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Commit yourself to constant improvement.
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Commit yourself to quality.
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Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationship with people you love and respect.
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Be loyal.
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Be honest.
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Be a self-starter.
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Be decisive even it it means you’ll sometimes be wrong.
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Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
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Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.
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Take good care of those you love.
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Don’t do anything that wouldn’t make your Mom proud.
I have been thinking about the men who are speaking into my own fifteen-year-old son’s life. What are they are saying? All of the items listed above are good, but it seems to have some important things missing.
So, I am standing before you with my fifteen-year-old son beside me.
“I am going to ask you to do me and my son a great honor; I am going to ask you to speak into his life. Will you share with him out of your own personal experience some of the wisdom you have gained. What is the best advice you can give my son about the way he live’s his life.”
Please use the comment section below to share your thoughts.
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In the book Teknon and the Champion Warriors, Brent Sapp recommends the following as informative and thoughtful resources for a father to use with his son. What do you think of his recommendations? [There is at least one that I would never consider.] What would you add to his list?
I Kissed Dating Goodbye, by Joshua Harris
Right From Wrong, by Josh McDowell
In the Shadow of the Almighty, by Elisabeth Elliott
Through Gates of Splendor, by Elisabeth Elliott
The Book of Virtues, edited by William Bennett
The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis
The Moral Compass, edited by William Bennett
Dominion, by Randy Alcorn
Left Behind, by Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins
This Present Darkness, by Frank E. Peretti
Piercing the Darkness, by Frank E. Peretti
The Testament, by John Grisham
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