A dad in Texas shared an amazing story that recently happened at the company where he works.

His story makes a very strong case about our priorities…

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We all know how the economy is going nowadays, and probably most of us, if not all, are concerned about the near future, our jobs, and praying hard about it.

Yesterday at church I saw a good buddy of mine, and he was not looking good. So I took him aside and asked him what was going on. (We are accountability partners, and we often go straight to the point, no “how are you ?” between us.)

He told me that at his workplace “pink slips” were flying all around him, personnel reduction was the “word of the month,” and he was very worried about his job.

He works in IT and was studying madly to get a very hard IT certification to make his position harder to get rid of.

I understood, since I share his same concern, and I am in the ’same boat’ so to speak.

That made me think, and I told him the story I want to share with you all, that happened in my workplace last week.

Last Monday, as soon as we got to the office, we were told that one of the oldest executive managers in the company, “James” had passed on the night before, in his bed.

James was the General Manager of our most lucrative sales market, he had been the company VP and CFO
in different times, and was one of the oldest employees of the company.

The guy was working 12-14 hours a day, taking very little care of himself, and work was his life.

You all see where this is going, right?

A few days after the funeral, I was in the car with our VP, going to Dallas, for business. In the car we started to talk almost immediately about James and what had happened.

After a few casual comments of sorrow about his death, the VP made a comment that gave me the chills …

She said “You know, James “passing away” is going to save the company a lot of money, his salary was quite good, and all in all, we were considering “letting him go” anyway, for we still have to cut salaries and personnel…”

My heart sunk, for I realized how little “James” the man, the individual, had mattered to the company.

Technically, the comment was right.

Under the moral and “human” perspective, it was chilling.

Today, a week after the event, “James” is nearly forgotten.

Gone, merely a faint memory. His position will not be replaced, the company will save money, and that is the end of a 17 years old career.

Guys, put your time, heart and effort in your family and in God.

I still remember the stories my grandfather used to tell me, and he passed away 25 years ago.

My children still laugh and cherish the stories I tell them about my mother’s grandfather…

It’s just money, folks… rust and moths.

What really matters is in the hearts of people you live with, share laughs, experience life and faith with.

You (we all) are not what your job says.

We are fathers, husbands, a brother, a friend, a son of a wonderful God.

Your company will erase the memory of you in a few days, if you drop dead tomorrow.

Your family will remember you forever — put your sweat and effort where it will bear good fruits.

Sorry for the story, it’s probably depressing, but I felt the urgent need to vent…

God Bless you all, brothers.

TexasDad

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I pray this story has been a clear reminder to all of us dads of what and who to truly prioritize in 2009.

Blessings to you and your family in this new year,
Joey Watkins
Founder, FamilyDads

PS - The best resource I’ve found on helping dads make and keep the right priorities is–
http://www.dadresources.com/product.asp?itemid=15

After serving as operations and marketing manager for a “workplace ministry” from 2004 to early 2008, I stepped down earlier this year so that I could give greater focus to prioritizing my family and discipling my children, as well as to launch a business/ministry to encourage other dads like you to prioritize your family and disciple your children. I believe this is one of the most important aspects of our lives as dads.

Every week, we men are tempted to consume ourselves with our work at the expense of our family — to make our work the highest focus of our lives. This is because of the amount of time we spend at work, the challenges we face at work, the level of responsibility we perceive in our work, and the money we receive in exchange for our time, our services, and our skills. And for many men, it is also because of the level of “calling” we believe we have in our work.

However, this focus on our work often results in neglecting the greatest influence we will ever have — in the lives of our children. Especially while they are young and still living in our homes.

This influence is our FATHER POWER. It is the level of influence we have in the lives of our children and their destinies simply because we are their fathers. It is the result of our relationship with them and our position of authority in their lives. Our relationship with each of our children will last for the remainder of our life, as well as impact them long after we are gone. And potentially for eternity.

Many of us dads miss this as we busy our lives with our work — week after week – month after month — while our children grow up receiving dominant influence from sources other than their dad.

If work is a higher priority in your life than your family, make a commitment to change that starting today. The FamilyDads emails are written to help you prioritize your family and disciple your children, to be encouraged as a dad, and to give you recommendations of helpful dad resources. Please forward these emails to other dads you know. And find one or two other dads to meet with regularly who share this desire to prioritize our families.

Two outstanding resources on today’s topic which I have personally read and give my highest endorsement are Father Power by Todd Wilson and Choosing to Cheat by Andy Stanley.

Your purchase of these books at www.DadResources.com
provides direct financial support to FamilyDads so we can reach more dads
with these critical messages of fatherhood.

by Joey Watkins

Today’s message is dedicated to all dads everywhere who have children still living at home. I pray this message will penetrate our hearts and impact our actions.

As tempting and overwhelming as it is, we must not let our work consume us. It is so passively easy to get wrapped up in our work, be absorbed in thoughts and actions to get our work done, take on more projects, try to bring closure to existing projects, focus our effort and energy on our work, and give constant attention to our job/career/business to generate more income or because our identity, purpose, or calling are falsely tied to our work.

All at the expense of our family… our wives and children. They crave time with us. They desperately need our time. They need us to simply spend time with them. Often. Daily.

They need our influence. They need relationship with us. And this cannot happen if our work consumes us.

Are our wives and children not the most important people on earth in our lives?

Do we not cherish them greater than everyone else?

Let us then be committed as dads to prioritize them. Every day. Not just on the weekends when we “unwind” from our work.

“But my work is my sacrifice for my family and my way of providing for them.”

The Bible says in 1 Samuel 15:22 that “…to obey is better than sacrifices.” God has called each of us dads to obey Him and His Word in raising our children and loving our wives. And that involves our TIME and proactive involvement in their lives.

As a husband and dad with 4 young children, I constantly remind myself of this message. I pray it stays at the top of your thoughts too.

R E S O U R C E S   for   D A D S

With only 24 hours in a day, we dads simply cannot fit everything in — work, family, hobbies, fitness, house chores, yard work, socializing, sleep. And what we choose to cheat reveals our true values, regardless of what we think our values are. When you choose to leave work an hour earlier, miss a round of golf, or let the dishes sit while you spend time with your child, you make your family feel valued and you communicate their priority to you. Best-selling author Andy Stanley shares from having spent hundreds of hours with men and women who have cheated their work for the sake of career goals. Strangely enough, the solution is similar to the problem. Both involve cheating! This book is a highly recommended FamilyDads resource. Learn More and Order