Subscription Lists

As president of a large legal office, college, and corporation I have responsibility for about fifty employees. As I interview potential workers, I have found that there are four qualities which are becoming increasingly scarce. The remarks that follow are designed to encourage teenagers to prepare themselves for the time when they will be called into the work force. This information is also aimed at parents, with the hope that they will teach these precepts to their children with great diligence.

1. Respect For Authority
   
   Employers want workers who will respect the principles of a chain of command and who will cheerfully receive a directive as an order. Too many workers believe that their supervisor’s directives are merely suggestions which can be followed or not, depending on how the employee feels about the matter. Others will do what their supervisor asks but only with a begrudging attitude. A worker who is willing to follow directions with a smile will shine as a star in the eyes of any employer.
   
   This is an attitude which fathers must instill in their children. If we fail to teach our children to obey, they will never follow directions on the job. If we are tyrants and obtain obedience through undue harshness, then our children will likely become the kind of workers who do what they are told --- and no more --- and with a sullen attitude.
   
   We need to teach our children to joyfully obey and genuinely respect those in authority over us. Our willingness as fathers to display respect for authority in our own lives is a critical factor in helping our children develop a proper attitude toward authority. Do you show a proper respect for your boss? Do you have a good attitude toward the leadership of your church? How do you talk about the President and other political leaders?
   
   You can respect those in leadership without having to agree with them about everything. If you disagree, however, you should still model the practice of a respectful appeal for your children. If your Governor supports a gay rights bill, for example, calling the Governor bad names in front of your children will not instill the kind of attitude you desire in your children. Instead of bad-mouthing, write a strong letter of appeal to the Governor and let your children read it. You should then pray that God would turn the heart of the Governor so that he would change his mind. In addition, since our system of government permits citizens to change those in authority over them, you can and should work diligently to get a better person in office during the next election.
   
2. Taking Initiative
   
   As an employer, I always value a person who not only does what he is told, but sees something else which needs to be done and does it. Taking initiative is a skill and attitude which is much easier to develop as a child than an adult. If your child is told to wash the dishes, he demonstrates initiative if he not only washes the dishes but also sweeps the floor. A child who learns to walk into a room, see a problem, and resolve it will climb to the upper echelon of any business.
   
3. Striving For Excellence
   
   Too many in our society have forgotten how to be excellent. We are satisfied with being “good enough.” In most schools today, the prevailing practice is have students produce “acceptable” papers. Little wonder why the prevailing attitude of many workers today is to produce products and services that are merely “acceptable.”
   
   We need to train our children to go beyond being “good enough” in the way they do things. Our children should learn to read, understand, critique, and judge literature. They should have a thorough introduction to some of the great books of literature.
   
   Children from Christian homes should also be able to write well. It is not enough for our children to be able to write clear prose. We should teach our children to write logically and persuasively.
   
   Our children must also master basic math and be able to understand and perform some advanced math. Not every child needs calculus. The ability to perform algebra and geometry, however, are benchmarks of a well-rounded math student. These two courses are also excellent methods for teaching logic and reasoning. My ninth grade algebra teacher taught me skills I frequently use now to analyze a proposed piece of legislation. Logic, orderly thinking, and reasoning skills are important in many fields outside of the traditional careers associated with math.
   
   There is one area of study in which we need to go far, far beyond public school standards. We need to provide the best available instruction in the history and geography of our nation. While the public schools are drowning children in the academically meaningless and morally damaging world of “multiculturalism,” we should be teaching our children to thoroughly know the history and philosophies of the men and women who founded this country. If American children are not taught the principles of freedom, America will not remain free for very long.
   
4. Willingness To Work Hard
   
   There are too many lazy people. Go to a shopping mall and try to get a clerk to help you. Go to any fast food restaurant. Chances are you will encounter mostly lazy people --- people who have no enthusiasm for work.
   
   Let me tell you a secret. I am a lazy person by nature. I do not like to work. It is true that I help my wife with the home schooling of our children. It is true that I do work around the house. It is true that for many years I volunteered to pastor a church on top of all of my other responsibilities, while I also coached a softball team, wrote books, and chaired an international human rights organization. Obviously, something happened to me along the way to adulthood that allowed me to overcome my natural tendency toward laziness. That “something” was my father. He taught me how to work, and I have to admit that it was over my extreme protests. I fought him every step of the way.
   
   I was forced to mow the lawn, paint the house, re-roof the house, dig ditches for our irrigation system, and dig up some awful stuff in the yard called “quack grass.” Since my father was employed by the public schools, and received only one paycheck at the beginning of the summer, our family often ran out of money later in the summer. When that happened, our whole family went out and picked fruit for local farmers. I remember having to help significantly from age eight on, and I hated it. I cried and I screamed --- literally.
   
   I look back today and believe that my father did me an enormous amount of good by forcing me to work hard. I don’t want to give you the impression that we never played, because we did. I remember with considerable fondness the great fun our family would have when we would finish a day’s work in the summer and go to the city pool for family hour. In fact, as I grew up I did not have to work all summer long, nor did my father require me to work full time hours. Still, by the modern standards of kids today, I was compelled to work hard.
   
   I wasn’t given any realistic choice to live a lazy life. As a consequence, my natural tendency toward laziness was eventually overcome by my father’s diligence. I still have a heart that is easily tempted by laziness. But as a child, I was trained up in the way I should go and now that I am old I have a very hard time departing from my training and returning to my natural state.

I believe that fathers have special responsibilities to prepare their children for adulthood. Obviously, neither parent has exclusive duties with younger or older children. Both parents need to be involved throughout the child’s life. But a father does have special responsibilities as his children approach maturity.

Fathers have a duty to see that their children are properly prepared for a career. When children are at home, the father has the clear biblical mandate to be the provider. However, God never intended for children to receive provisions from their dads for an entire lifetime. God intended that somewhere along the line, fathers would stop simply giving their children a fish and teach them how to fish for themselves. There are many facets of your responsibility to train your children for a career. The first step, however, is to teach your child good work habits. With proper direction, training, and ultimately the grace of God, young people will have the foundation they need to take responsibility for their own attitudes and actions.

Copyright 1993Michael Farris, Esq.

"Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life" from Tom Kelley

Choking can be Hazardous to Your Eternal Health