“When it comes to your children, the hardest thing is to not do.” – David Green, CEO/Founder of Hobby Lobby

What does it mean to “not do”?

I remember buying my first car when I was 16 years old. It cost $350. I got my brother to rebuild an engine and install it for me. For whatever reason, that car always seemed to have trouble with the starter, and I had to replace the starter a few different times. I bloodied my knuckles and grumbled a bit. But it was mine.

Fast forward to when my kids were starting to drive. It would have been an easy thing to just buy them a car. And to be honest, I could have rationalized the purchase. After all, I wanted them to be in something safe and reliable—certainly something that wasn’t needing a new starter every year. In other words, it would have been easy to get them a car.

But the hardest thing to do was to not get them that car.

My plan was to make them earn half and I’d contribute the other half. Overall, I think it was a good plan, a fair plan. Each of my kids got jobs, worked during high school, and learned to save. To this day each of them are hard workers, and I am immensely proud of each one of them.

How are you doing in the “not doing” category?

Photo by Nicola Brasetti on Unsplash

Bill High

Bill is CEO & Founder of Vyne Legacy. He works with families to equip them with tools to build multigenerational legacies, and he teaches givers and financial advisers on transformational biblical generosity. He is the co-author with David Green of Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously.

Published March 21, 2022

Topics: Lessons with Bill

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