Dear Josh,
Do you remember the morning that we went into Wal-Mart and looked for the most expensive thing we could find? Wal-Mart is a real interesting place to look for expensive things. They work so hard to make sure everything is the best price so that their customers can “Save Money and Live Better.” Mr. Lewis in his book encourages us as men to do something like you and I did. He says that a real man seeks for the greater reward. What I think he means by that is to live better you have to find the things in life that give the greatest reward. You don’t just live better by saving more money or by having more money for that matter. You live better by finding the things that are of great value.
Let me tell you what I think these things are. The things that are of most value are things that are found in the Bible. The Bible says there are a few things that last forever:
1. God lasts forever,
2. His Word lasts forever,
3. His kingdom lasts forever and
4. The souls of men and women last forever.
You can give your life to a lot of things but unless the things on the list above are in that mix you will have wasted your life. One hundred years from now when you and I both are dead and in heaven, we will be glad that we invested our lives in things that last forever. Some people call those things eternal things. A lot of men give their lives for stupid things and waste them away on things that don’t matter. I want to live my life for things that will give a great reward not things that give a fleeting moment of satisfaction.
The morning we did our scavenger hunt in Wal-Mart I learned a big lesson: in the middle of all the things that were designed to help us save money there were a few things that were very valuable. Life is like that: in the middle of all the things that we could exchange our days for there are a few precious things that have great value. Jesus said it this way; “what good is it to gain the whole world and yet forfeit your soul.” My encouragement to you is give yourself to great things!
Love,
Dad 
Letters to Josh is a series of letters written from a dad to his son Josh trying to capture some of the important life lessons he wanted to pass on. These letters are a bit random in nature but each is written to address a key issue in the development of a young man. These letters are written from a very imperfect father whose love knows no bounds for his son. These letters are shared with you (the reader) only because we hope that the things we are learning and thinking through will help you and your sons.
Image credit: code poet, Flickr. Article originally published at ReadyAimLife.com.
Tim Howington is is a thinker, encourager, and seeker. A former full time minister, he is currently in the restaurant business by day and a part time writer by night. You can find him blogging at www.thehowitzerrants.com and ReadyAimLife.com. He lives with his wife of 20+ years and son in NW Arkansas with two cats and golden retriever.