We Work for Money

Posted September 17th, 2005

A friend has two sons, who are now teenagers. When they were preschoolers, he was teaching them about serving others without reward. After a storm, Troy and his sons were picking up limbs in their yard. They also picked up limbs and other debris in the yard of their older neighbor. When the gentleman offered to pay the boys, Troy told the neighbor that they were glad to help, and it’s better to give than to receive, and that neighbors help one another, and all the nice homilies. The preschoolers could file this conversation in their minds for reminders as they matured.

Troy went inside, and the boys stayed outside with the neighbor, continuing to help him pick up small branches. After awhile, one of the boys remarked, “We know what Daddy said, Mr. Johnson, and it all sounds real nice. But we work for money!”

That story has stuck with me for years now, and I often wonder where they learned that lesson so early in life. What reward and recognition do we seek in order to perform at our best? What motivates us to work for others, to serve, to fulfill our life purpose? I doubt it is just one thing, but most appear to have a few things that drive us. Do I work just for money, or is there something more important?

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 17th, 2005 at 11:17 am and is filed under Learning from Children.