March 12


Pay Attention


Be sure you know how your sheep are doing, and pay attention to the condition of your cattle.

Proverbs 27:23 (NCV)


I sat with my son Drew at the dining room table. We were about to have a serious talk. He shifted in his seat.

“Look, Drew.” I leaned forward and handed him a computer printout. “Your bank says you have $2,640 in your account. Our agreement is that you put $4,000 toward college this year.”

Then I dropped the bomb, “You may not be going to George Fox this fall.” Drew’s eyes widened as he sat up in his chair.

“But I made more….”

“The bank says you spent over $1,500 on … flowers?”

“For Alisha, but….”

“Then there was gas and fast food and … gifts?

“Well, yeah … it was our 6-month anniversary.”

“Okay. Well, that’s all nice, but how are you going to pay for school?”

For the next two hours, Drew seemed extremely anxious as he went on a crusade to find $1,400! As it turned out, he had a large pay check to deposit, but the thing that made his day was when we walked into the Wells Fargo lobby and stepped up to the teller. With fingers crossed, he stepped across the short fibered, brown carpet, handed the young woman his outdated passbook ... and waited. Surprise! He had $800 in the account he had totally forgotten. Phew! At this point, Drew’s smile was the biggest of the summer.

Good or bad, my son is much like me. He has the gift of giving and would give everything to the one he loves (and almost did!), but there’s more. You see, we both need to be better stewards. The lesson I tried to teach Drew is a reminder to me as well.

Enjoy life! Love a lot, give a lot, but always pay attention!

Lord, I am convicted. You know my struggles with finances. Help me to be diligent and to pay attention. Amen.