By Dr. James Snyder
As I celebrated Father’s Day this year, I remembered my father. It was 16 years ago that he passed away, and I have not forgotten him one single day.
One thing that stands out in my memories of him is his money. He did not have a lot of money, but the money he did have was somewhat of an obsession with him. When he got his monthly bank statements, he spent the whole day going through them line by line.
As he reviewed his statements and deposits, he remembered each deposit and its source. Sitting with him one time as he was going over his bank statements, I asked him how he could remember each deposit and where it came from.
Continuing to look at his bank statement, he said, “Son, it’s more important to know where your money is coming from then where it’s going.”
I’m not sure I understood exactly at the time what he was talking about.
He had a construction business and kept track of all the money coming in from the sale of a house. It was important to him to review his money every month.
Today, we can check our bank balances online every day. Back in his day, he didn’t have the Internet like we have today. I like to think of what it would be like if he could check his bank balances every day. I think he would really have enjoyed that.
Thinking of his connection with money, I could not help but think about going out to lunch with him. Often, several of his friends would come out together, and we would have lunch at a restaurant. I did not catch this at first, but it did not take me long to see what was happening.
Everybody paid their own bill, but Dad picked up mine, which I was thankful for. He told everybody that he would take care of the tip, and nobody needed to worry about it. I noticed that he laid down the tip. I did not quite understand what it was, but as he walked away, I looked back and saw that his tip was a quarter. Sometimes it was only a nickel, but this time he was being very generous.
As we were walking out, some of the guys would say they had to go to the bathroom and would catch up with us in the parking lot. I never assumed what they were doing, but later I realized they were going back to the table and leaving generous tips for the waitress. It’s a good thing good old dad didn’t know anything about that.
Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-352-216-3025, e-mail [email protected], website www.jamessnyderministries.com.
