Book Excerpt
“What is your goal when it comes to raising your children? If you’re like most parents, the word success is somewhere in your answer. We all want the very best for our children. We want them to get a good education, have prestigious jobs, live in safe neighborhoods, marry spouses who are easy to look at, and someday have wonderful children of their own. And who is kidding whom? To be fair, there is a sense of success that is a legitimate parenting goal, if we’re defining success as our children doing something productive with their talents and skills that enables them to be independent, happy adults. The problem is that most parents don’t stop there. They add the wealth, power, beauty, and fame I mentioned above to their definition. The telltale sign that these goals have a vise grip on their view of success is the heavy emphasis they place on their kids’ getting stellar grades, being connected to the influential kids in school, getting onto winning teams, racking up strong endeavors, and investing often and heavily in current fashion. These are the priorities that plant the seeds of success–the wealth, power, beauty, and fame kind–into the soil of their kids’ souls. If their children are successful–in these ways that our society defines success–then these parents sit back, relax, and congratulate themselves on a job well done.
But is that enough? Is that all we want our children to be–merely successful?
I’m not saying that there’s anything inherently wrong with getting a good education, making a nice living, and being well known. These things are fine additions to an adult life–but they shouldn’t be the primary goals we set for our children. That’s because man-made success has little to do with true greatness.
Here’s what I’m suggesting in this book: if we’re aiming our children at success, we’re aiming far too low. We’re going to invest twenty years of our lives and spend tons of money preparing our kids for the future. Why not prepare them for a life that dwarfs the goals of those who are merely successful? Why not groom our children for true greatness?
* Success looks inward; true greatness looks upward, then outward
* Success is about my agenda; true greatness is about God’s agenda
* Success accommodates selfishness; true greatness celebrates altruism.
* Success is about receiving; true greatness is about giving.
* Success worships what it sees in a mirror; true greatness grieves over what it sees through its windows.
* Success pays off for now; true greatness pays off forever.
True greatness is a passionate love for God that demonstrates itself in an unquenchable love and concern for others.”
