Cultivating generous kids

This is the fifth part in our series “5 Ideas For Cultivating Generous Kids This Christmas”. Click here to read the introduction to this series.

#5 Be a generous global citizen

Love it or hate it, you will hear the Band Aid hit “Do they know it’s Christmas?” a lot over the next few weeks. While it’s true to say that some of the lyrics are unhelpful or even untrue generalisations, nevertheless the song is still powerful. It’s a jarring experience to sing the harrowing words while wearing a Christmas jumper and dancing around a house crowded with wrapping paper, new possessions and a feast of food.

We’re surrounded by plenty and yet we’re singing the words:

“But say a prayer for the other ones
At Christmastime
It’s hard, but when you’re having fun
There’s a world outside your window
And it’s a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears

And the Christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it’s them instead of you
And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmastime

The greatest gift they’ll get this year is life
Oh, where nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow
Do they know it’s Christmastime at all?

Here’s to you, raise a glass for ev’ryone
Here’s to them, underneath that burning sun
Do they know it’s Christmastime at all?

Feed the world
Let them know it’s Christmastime again”

It’s uncomfortable. It’s incongruous. It’s at odds with the festivities of the moment.

That’s the desired effect.

Then there’s a call to donate. A call to turn that guilt into something helpful. To give out of our abundance in the West and to help someone in need in the developing world.

It’s probably been a fairly effective means of getting people to donate at Christmastime over the years.

We’d like to suggest that the Gospel is an even better motivator for giving to the poor at Christmas.

You see the Bible is packed full of commands to care for the needy – not simply because it’s the right thing to do in a broken and unjust world (although it most certainly is!) but because all Christians were lost, were poor, were vulnerable and were oppressed. Yet God who is rich in love rescued us from our poverty and made us abundantly rich in Christ.

There are too many verses to quote and biblical stories to recount which demonstrate God’s unwavering compassion towards the poor and destitute. If you are looking for a book which will help you get your teeth into this topic then try Generous Justice* by Tim Keller.

But suffice to say, Jesus was the most extraordinarily generous and compassionate man. Any glance at any page of any gospel will show you his commitment to the poor and needy. He self-sacrificially poured himself out in his healing and teaching ministry, but ultimately he gave up his very blood to heal the brokenness of the entire world.

So let’s try and encourage our children to think about the needs of the poor, and to think globally about this. Poverty, war, natural disasters, persecution of Christians, human trafficking and disease are horrendous realities of life in our world; the people caught up in these atrocities are very close to God’s heart. There is no easy way to talk to our children about them, and yet it’s essential that we do. In an age-appropriate way, let’s make our children aware that they are in a privileged position and that they can and should bless others who are in desperate situations.

Lots of charities are doing Christmas appeals. Unicef, Tearfund and Christian Aid are all doing Christmas appeals where you can quickly and simply donate money online. There are options for all budgets, from a £3 blanket to keep a Syrian child warm through winter, to £47 to provide shelter and counselling for a child rescued from trafficking, to £100 for food, mattresses and hygiene kits for a displaced family. Lots of these websites have images of what you are purchasing and the pictures of the types of people who will be receiving your help. Perhaps sit with your child and look at the information on the website together. It might help them visualize who they are giving to and what a difference it will make.

Depending on the how sensitive your child is, this may be very hard for them to think about. Encourage them that Jesus cares deeply for these people, that he died to bring all the sadness in the world to an end, and that one day he will be coming back to make everything perfect.

Here’s a beautiful excerpt from the Jesus Storybook Bible* which you can read to your child to comfort them:

I see a sparkling city shimmering in the sky: glittering, glowing – coming down! From heaven. And from the sky. Heaven is coming down to earth! And the King says, “Look! God and his children are together again. No more running away. Or hiding. No more crying or being lonely or afraid. No more being sick or dying. Because all those things are gone. Yes, they’re gone forever. Everything sad has come untrue. And see – I have wiped away every tear from every eye!”And then a deep beautiful voice that sounded like thunder in the sky says, “Look! I am making everything new!”

Sally Lloyd-Jones

That’s it for our Cultivating Generous Kids This Christmas series. We hope you enjoyed it!

This is the fourth part in our series “5 Ideas For Cultivating Generous Kids This Christmas”. Click here to get the introduction to this series.

#4 Be a generous member of the local community

Find out what initiatives there are in your local area, pick one and get stuck in with your child. This could be giving money for a young-carers Christmas party, carol singing in a local care home, having an international student spend Christmas day with you, or donating food for the homeless-shelter’s Christmas dinner. Where we live there is a “Giving Tree” in the town centre. Through this you can buy a gift for a child in the town who is living with domestic abuse. We picked children the same age and gender as our children to buy gifts for.

Work for the well-being of the city where I have sent you to and pray to the Lord for this. For if it is well with the city you live in, it will be well with you.”

Jeremiah 29:7

This is the second part in our series “5 Ideas For Cultivating Generous Kids This Christmas”. Click here to get the introduction to this series.

#2 Be a generous family member

Children (and adults!) often can be more excited about receiving presents then giving presents. But what a refreshing thing it would be if we could inspire our children to be excited about giving presents to other family members. Perhaps you can sit down with each child and ask them what they think their mummy/daddy/sibling/grandparents/aunty etc would like for Christmas? Through conversation encourage your children to be thoughtful, to consider the interests and passions of that particular family member. Go through each family member that the child will be giving a gift to and write down a shopping list. Then make the time to go out shopping with them, getting excited about how much the recipient will love their present. Stop for hot chocolate and a chat if your child is old enough (and civilised enough!) to enjoy that sort of thing. Then have a fun evening wrapping up the presents together, incorporating Christmas music, Christmas snacks and Christmas jumpers. We want our kids to love the festivities – including the giving of gifts to others. This may take a few different shopping outings (one special shopping trip and evening of wrapping with each child). If you have a crafty child, let them go to town with ribbons, labels and string (who doesn’t love a beautifully wrapped present?)

On Christmas morning encourage your children to watch each other open their gifts (if this is impossible for the bulk of the gifts, then make it mandatory for family gifts to each other). Part of the joy of giving is seeing people’s reactions as they uncover what you’ve got them. Encourage hugs and expressions of gratitude.

…the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

Acts 20:35

Christmas is such a special and exciting time of year. All of the senses are awoken with mulled wine; twinkling lights; carols; turkey; and kissing under the mistletoe. It’s a season of opulence, of feasting, of resting with loved ones, and of joy.

There are so many wonderful things to celebrate.

There are so many things to be thankful for, not least of these is the incarnation of our astonishingly self-giving and generous God!

Christmas is the time of year where we especially remember the coming of Christ. Christ – the most perfectly satisfying and joy-giving gift in the all the world. Christ, who was given from our heavenly father to me, and to you.

And yet, what does my heart so often crave at this time of year?

Stuff.

More gadgets, more money, more jewellery, more DVDs, more spa days, more chocolate…

More. More. More.

What message does social media, the TV, the shops, the world constantly bombard me with?

The message that I am not truly satisfied and what will satisfy me is more stuff.

And what about our children? What’s the world telling them?

That they will not be satisfied until they get more stuff.

More barbies. More Thomas’ trains. More teddy bears. More hi-tech gear. More chocolate.

More. More. More.

We have an insatiable appetite for more stuff. We are greedy for more stuff. We feel entitled to more stuff.

And why?

Not simply because we live in a culture which is consumed with consumerism – but because what we are craving behind that desire is something deeper.

We want happiness. We want satisfaction. We want fulfilment, joy, comfort and security. And they are good things.

But they are not found in stuff.

Stuff is often good and can bring temporary enjoyment. In fact stuff can be a beautiful part of the creation God has made, if it’s enjoyed in the right way. But those deeper longings that we all have can never be met by stuff. These deeper longings can only be met by the God-man who was born in poverty, who became a child refugee, who died the death of a criminal and was buried in a borrowed grave.

Jesus is the only one who can give us our heart’s greatest desires.

And so, this week we want to do a series of posts: 5 ways that you can encourage generosity in the hearts of your children.

Why do this? Not simply because Jesus’ self-sacrifice should inspire generosity, although it should.

We should do this because as we give generously, the cords of greed which grip our hearts are loosened. These cords which whisper “life, joy, freedom” are loosened and we experience true life, true joy and true freedom as we practically choose to trust the words of Jesus rather than our own selfish desires. We actively trust that “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35) and in doing so we experientially know and feel it to be true.

Because you know what? In God’s economy when our bank balance goes down, that isn’t loss. It’s gain. We gain treasures in heaven.

It’s hard to believe isn’t it? It goes against everything our culture says.

And yet it’s true.

So over the next 5 days we’re going to suggest 5 ways that you can encourage your kids’ (and you!) to be generous.

But don’t just teach them that Christians should give away at Christmastime. Teach them that our heavenly Father gave his son for us; that Jesus gave his life up for us; that true life, joy and freedom is found in him; and that as we give sacrificially to others, we mirror our extraordinary God who was pleased to give us “every Spiritual blessing in Christ.”

So here’s today’s suggestion:

#1 Be a generous friend

Let’s encourage our children to be generous friends.

Why don’t you encourage your children to make something for their friends/ classmates? Perhaps home-made cards with a bible verse in it, or home-made fudge, or hand-made bracelets. Something that requires a little bit of an investment of time and thoughtfulness.

Get your child to come up with the idea themselves. Maybe choose a craft that you know they will enjoy doing or spend some time scheming together as you browse Pinterest for ideas.

Your child may get discouraged if the process takes a long time – but use this as a gospel opportunity to tell them how much God loves us and sacrificed for us. And remind them of how loved and special their friends will feel when they receive their gift. After your child has given away the gifts, ask them how their friend’s responded and praise your child for their generosity.

Stay tuned for the rest of the posts.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”

2 Corinthians 8:9

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