Don’t Make The Mistake Of Paying Later…

A good friend of mine at work shared this with me.  This only made me re-assess my life. 
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Most mornings, I bike with my two boys around our village. 

Actually they bike and I run after them.

Because I don’t have a bike (mine is broken). 
But I don’t mind.

 Because that means they win our races. And they have fun laughing at their father who always comes last, my tongue hanging out of my mouth, ready to faint.

 This morning, after biking, we also played chess and checkers. Obviously, I beat them in every game. (Sweet Revenge!)
 
Some days, we play the Wii together. It’s an interactive game console and we have loads of fun doing that. From pingpong to bowling to flying to car racing. (Yes, the old guy looses again.)
 
And if I can get off from work a bit early, we’ll go running and biking again in the afternoon.
 
My point? 
 
I spend an enormous amount of time with my kids.
 
Is it difficult?
 
You bet.
 
I do a lot of stuff. I run 12 businesses. I lead 9 non-profit organizations. I preach 300 times a year. I write 80 articles a month.
 
But I’ve made a decision that nothing is more important than my family.
 
Why? 
 
Here’s what I learned about life: You either pay now or you pay later. If you pay later, it’ll cost more.
 
I don’t want to pay later. It’ll cost me 100 times more!
 
Like some parents I know. Sadly, they never spent time with their kids.  In other words, they didn’t pay before.
 
Today, these parents are paying. They sit restless at night, crying, worrying about their adult children. And they ask these very painful questions:
 
• “Why is my son hanging out with the wrong crowd?”
• “Is my son drinking too much? Is he taking drugs too?”
• “Why did my daughter choose that bum as her boyfriend?”
• “Will my son ever grow up and take responsibility?”
• “What have I done wrong as a parent?”
      
I ask you: Don’t pay later. 
 
It’s more painful that way.
 
No matter how difficult, pay now.
 
Spend time with your kids.
 
Make it faithful. Make it fun. Make it fantastic.
 
May your dreams come true,
  
Bo Sanchez


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