Can I Borrow A Minute of Your Time?

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 (The Message)
Love God, your God, with your whole heart:
love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got!
Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts.
Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children.
Talk about them wherever you are,
sitting at home or walking in the street;
talk about them from the time you get up in the morning
to when you fall into bed at night.
Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder;
inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.

My friend Tim from Pickl.com sent this to me via email yesterday, and I thought the message was worth sharing. I googled it to see if an author existed and found the story plastered all over the internet. So obviously, not new, but it bears repeating. Also, I think Tim "cleaned it up" a bit from its original version, so I thought that was cool too. Whatcha think?

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, only to find his 6-year-old son waiting for him at the door.

“Daddy, may I please ask you a question?”

“Okay… yeah, sure, what is it?” replied the man.

“Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”

“That's NONE of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?” the man said angrily.

“I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?”

“If you must know, I make $50 an hour.”

“Oh,” the little boy replied, with his head down, then looked back up.

“Daddy, may I please borrow…ummm… $25?”

The father was furious, “If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money 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 don't work hard every day for such childish frivolities.”

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. His father sat down and started to get even angrier about his little son's questions.

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

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think: maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00--and he really didn't ask for money very often--The man went to 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 out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.”

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. “Oh, thank you Daddy!” he yelled with delight. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled-up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

“Why do you want more money if you already have some?” the father grumbled.

“Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied. “Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.”

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness. 

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.



In the Key of HE,