At one time Andrew
Carnegie was the wealthiest man in America. He came to America from his native
Scotland when he was a small boy, did a variety of odd jobs, and eventually
ended up as the largest steel manufacturer in the United States. At one time
he had forty-three millionaires working for him. In those days a millionaire
was a rare person; conservatively speaking, a million dollars in his day would
be equivalent to at least twenty million dollars today.

A reporter asked
Carnegie how he had hired forty-three millionaires. Carnegie responded that
those men had not been millionaires when they started working for him but had
become millionaires as a result.

The reporter’s
next question was, “How did you develop these men to become so valuable
to you that you have paid them this much money?” Carnegie replied that
men are developed the same way gold is mined. When gold is mined, several tons
of dirt must be moved to get an ounce of gold; but one doesn’t go into the mine
looking for dirt – one goes in looking for the gold.

That’s exactly
the way parents develop positive, successful kids. Don’t look for the flaws,
warts, and blemishes. Look for the gold, not for the dirt, the good, not the
bad. Look for the positive aspects of life. Like everything else, the more good
qualities we look for in our children, the more good qualities we are going
to find.

_________________________
From Sermon’s Illustrated

Share this content with your peers!