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Children express the spirit of God’s generosity
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the catastrophic flooding of New Orleans, we have been flooded ourselves with images of both suffering and compassion. Nowhere is there found a more compelling image, as seen on TV, than that of local collections of food and water, with contributions of young children given special feature. A little girl brings her piggy bank or a bag of pennies — all she has — and gives it willingly, proudly, with sparkling eyes. It is a true widow’s mite. The impact is not constrained to the earthly, but makes the angels sing. Such is what children teach us — “for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:14 KJV). During my 23 years as a pastor, I devised a stewardship project for children. First, I created an overhead transparency divided into four boxes, one box each for family, church, savings and yourself. Then I gave the children of the congregation 10 dimes and asked them to decide which of the four options should get their money. The only rule was that they must put at least one dime in each square. The congregation watched them divide the 10 dimes among the four boxes, as it happened, projected on a screen. Firstfruits, you ask? Did the children begin by placing the first dime on the church square? Well, yes, often instinct brought this result, but then more dimes inevitably followed into the two most popular boxes — “church” and “family.” The average gift from a four-to-eight year old was four or five dimes out of 10 for the church. But children are naive, you say. They don’t understand the value of money. They don’t have bills to pay. Maybe. But there was something else in operation here. They were working with proportions, which they could see and touch. They instinctively demonstrated what they valued, what was important to them. And their instinct was to give. I have been taught by the generosity of children again and again. When our daughters were small, at Christmastime they delighted in wrapping up my ballpoint pens, or other such things, placing them under the tree, all for the delight of watching me opening presents they had given. They even wanted me to open my presents that they had “given” before they opened theirs! Of course, it is mothers and fathers who bring their children to donation centers for hurricane victims. It is the parents who bring their children to church and gave them a coin for the offering. But it is the children who grasp the opportunities they have received. When given a choice of their own, they express the abundance of generosity that we experience everyday from God’s storehouse of grace and provision. Somehow, as we mature, we learn to count differently. Would that the God-given spirit of a child’s generosity could live in us longer! Also in this issue: Features Highlights Highlights |
