See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know Him. 1 John 3:1
“How do we nurture a generous spirit in children when it would seem the world is about self-aggrandizement, winning, and having the most toys? While we may think children are born as empty vessels waiting for family, teachers, and (yes) the church to fill them with love, knowledge, dreams, values, and a purpose, we know that they are already born with a capacity to know God and experience love.
As caretakers of our children, we are responsible for nurturing that which already exists — providing an environment where their desire to be loved and part of a community is openly welcomed and acting as role models for what it means to be a generous, loving person made in the image of God…Offer children chances to give voluntarily to projects that excite them. Parents should look for opportunities to expose them to local ministries and people in need, explaining that they are free to give where they feel Jesus might direct them…
What is occurring in our world today should spur us on to consider how we can be more intentionally and purposefully generous, not because we have to, but because God so generously lavished God’s love on us. And we should do it in a way that lets our children see that being kind and generous is who we are, not what we do, while inviting them to be part of the giving alongside us.”
Sharon Ely Pearson in “Nurturing Children to Live Generously” in Giving: Growing Joyful Stewards in Your Congregation, vol. 19 (Richmond: ESC, 2017) 26-27.
Can you think of ways you can be more “intentionally and purposefully” generous in order to help the next generation understand generosity? Pearson rightly reminds us that the world is filling our childrens’ minds with the opposite messages. We must do our part to nurture them to understand how to live in the way of Jesus.
Rather than “intentionally and purposefully” doing one big project with your children, nurture them through many small efforts, which collectively, help them develop a generous lifestyle. Remember, “being kind and generous is who we are, not what we do”, and it’s something we become not just as individuals but as families.