Principle # 17

For a child,

love is spelled

T-I-M-E.

A young man was to be sentenced to penitentiary. The judge had known him from childhood and was well acquainted with his father, a famous legal scholar. "Do you remember your father?" asked the magistrate. "I remember him well, your honor."

Then, trying to probe he offender's conscience, the judge said, "As you are about to be sentenced and as you think of your wonderful dad, what do you remember most clearly about him?"

"I remember when I went to him for advice, he looked at me from the book he was writing and said, 'Run along boy; I'm busy!' When I went to him for companionship, he turned me away, saying, 'Run along, son; this book must be finished!' Your honor, you remember him as a great lawyer. I remember him as a lost friend." The magistrate muttered to himself, "Alas! Finished the book, but lost the boy!"

The workaholic approach to life seems to be growing in popularity. Strange as it may sound, the workaholic is lazy. It requires considerably more effort and risk to learn how to communicate effectively with you spouse. And it requires considerably more energy for the workaholic to learn to play with, deal with, and communicate with a child in his emotional level.

Think constantly about

these commandments ...

teach them to your

children and talk about

them when you are at

home or out for a walk; at

bedtime and the first thing

in the morning.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 TLB