One mom's lesson in giving

by Sabrina Beasley

A friend recently shared with me that she noticed her children (ages 3 and 5) were becoming greedy for things.

Her family is fairly wealthy, so the children are often showered with gifts throughout the year. She noticed that the kids were beginning to care more about receiving gifts than relationships.  For example, she said, “On the way to their grandparents house, they start saying, ‘I wonder what we’ll get.  What will they give us?’”

So this year for Christmas, she and her husband decided that the kids would only get three gifts each.  “Jesus only received three gifts,” she said.

In addition, she is going to make them pick out three toys of their own to donate to the local orphanage.  She hopes this will teach them the value of giving and at the same time help them appreciate the things they have.

I thought this was a great idea for parents.  When my son is old enough to understand giving and receiving, I plan to ask him to pick out three toys to donate to a local charity.

Whether you restrict the amount of toys your children receive or emphasize giving in other ways, I hope you do something this holiday season to help remind your children of the words of Christ, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

Comments

[Tiffany]

Wow! How many of us know little children like that?! Great post! I will definitely share.