Note:
This is part of an ongoing series on teaching biblical stewardship to our
children.
My three-year-old
daughter dresses herself in the morning. None of the clothes that my wife or I
pick for her are right, so she goes through her drawers and chooses her own
clothes. Lately, she has started to layer her clothes. What started as a cute
thing, has turned ugly. Yesterday morning, my daughter came into the living
room wearing a sweater shirt, over a dress, over two shirts. She also had a
tutu over the bottom portion of the dress and pants on underneath. She’s not
dressing for winter weather. I think she’s trying to get all of her possessions
on her body before going to daycare. We have to negotiate the number of clothes
she can wear to school almost daily. And she’s not just a fashionista. We have
the same negotiations about how many toys she may take to her school’s “Share
Toy” day. The school allows one. She tries to stuff her backpack with a couple
extra share toys. Our son also tries to stuff his backpack with too much or
with things he should not take to school.
Is
this just a childish phase? Will they grow out of it and move on to something
else? Possibly. But, I think there may be a more insidious, underlying idolatry
occurring here. I think my children are worshiping the idol of possessions. And
as my wife and I are trying to instill values of stewardship into their lives,
we will need to work through this idolatry of possessions.
Some
of you may think I am being extreme, or worrying over nothing. However, I can
see the trouble in store if my kids do not have a healthy response to their possessions.
Paul warns about the dangers of a love of money (or possessions). He writes to
Timothy that, “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare,
into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and
destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. It is
through the craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced
themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:9-10). Further on, Paul writes “As for
the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, not to set their
hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with
everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be
generous and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves as a good
foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly
life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19).
Note,
that Paul does not tell us that money is evil. Nor does he say that wealth is
bad. But, he does caution us that we must be wary of a love of money and that
those who are rich (and though my family is not wealthy, we are, compared to
most of the world, secure), must understand the uncertainty of money and
possessions. These are values that we are trying to teach our children. We
frequently tell them that they are blessed financially in ways that so many
others are not. We try to teach them that they have far more toys, or clothes,
or food items than most kids in this world could ever dream of having. We try
to teach the value of sharing. We have tried to teach that we should take care
of those possessions we are blessed to have. We have tried to teach them that
we can bless others by giving to them either some of our possessions, or money
and resources as we are able. We have tried to teach them that Mom and Dad work
diligently for our paychecks and that we must be wise and careful in how we
spend these paychecks.
With
all of this teaching, we still have children who want more, who neglect what
they have, and who do not see the blessings of God in their lives. But, lest
you be quick to judge them as spoiled brats, let me ask you (and me): Do you
want more? Do you neglect what you have? Do you see the blessings of God in
your life? Has our consumer culture affected what you value?
You
see, I don’t just see my kids as the ones who want more. I have to look at
myself in the mirror. When my teaching falls on deaf ears, I have to look at my
own heart and determine if my teaching is not heard because my actions do not
back up what my words proclaim. Am I double-minded, saying one thing but inwardly
desiring something different? As I watch my children, I am learning so much
about myself. The hard truth is that I too, sometimes, define myself by my
possessions. As I am teaching my children, I must be reminded that I too need
to lay a good foundation for the future, so that I may take hold of that which
is truly life.
For more Faith of This Father, you can like the Faith of This Father page on Facebook or follow on Twitter @faithotfather. Or email me at faithofthisfather@yahoo.com.
For more Faith of This Father, you can like the Faith of This Father page on Facebook or follow on Twitter @faithotfather. Or email me at faithofthisfather@yahoo.com.