Let’s face it, life in America sure seems to be a lot more about “gimme, gettin’, and greed” than “generosity, giving, and gratefulness.”
So, as pastors, how can we encourage parents to help raise generous kids? If we (and the parents we shepherd) fail at this task, God’s work will be hindered for years to come since our www.STATEofthePLATE.info annual research shows that many adults who give 10% or more to the LORD’s work started this practice when they were growing up.
From my experience raising my three children, here are 4 E’s that you can share with parents to give them some practical ways they can proactively help raise generous kids so they can grow up to be generous adults.
EVENTS: Before Christmas a number of years ago I asked our kids, “Whose birthday is it? Who should get the biggest presents?” They answered it was Jesus’ birthday and He should get the biggest presents. But they asked, “how can we give birthday presents to Jesus?” I explained to them that when we give gifts to the lonely and the least, we are giving “birthday presents” to Jesus. So, we started something in our family that has now become a Christmas tradition. In our family, on Christmas eve after our kids open up their presents we give each of our kids an envelope with hundreds of dollars and a list of “approved” needy people, organizations, or projects. Each child has the choice of where they want the money in their envelope to go so they can help give birthday presents to Jesus. Each child then explains to the rest of the family where they gave the money and why. In addition to Christmas, you can also include acts of generosity in other events throughout the year by being intentional. For a kid’s birthday party, have everyone bring a non-perishable food item that can be given to a food pantry to serve the needy. At Thanksgiving, invite foreigners to join you for Thanksgiving dinner. In our family, we normally have 20+ people from 5-10 countries at our house for Thanksgiving. When you tie acts of generosity into major events during the year, the message of giving gets imprinted onto your children’s hearts, minds, and memories.
ENVELOPES: Give each of your children 3 envelopes and have them draw/design their own envelopes for Giving, Savings, and Spending. Whenever they get any money, the money is divided into the three envelopes to help shape their understanding of the three primary purposes of money. We started this practice when our children were preschoolers and is still happening now that our kids our teenagers. This is also an easy classroom project that any children’s Sunday School could do together. Our national research shows that many adults who are faithful and generous givers to religious/charitable causes started this practice when they were living at home.
